Cardano's Chang hard fork is getting pushed back to September.

This upgrade is important. It will bring on-chain governance to the Cardano network. This means ADA holders will be able to elect representatives and vote on proposals. This change is part of Cardano’s Voltaire Era, which aims to create a self-sustaining governance structure through CIP-1694.

Cardano is preparing for its biggest upgrade in two years. Initially, the Chang hard fork was set to launch this week, but now it’s delayed until September 1. Charles Hoskinson, the founder of Cardano, made this announcement. The delay gives exchanges, like Binance, extra time to get ready.

Hoskinson shared his thoughts on social media. He said, “The magic of deadlines is that people who aren’t taking upgrades seriously suddenly say, 'Damn, we got to get moving.'” This highlights how deadlines can create urgency.

Cardano is currently ranked as the 30th largest blockchain by DeFILlama. It attracts a lot of attention in the crypto community. This is not just because of its tech innovations, but also due to Hoskinson’s engaging personality and public presence. He co-founded Ethereum in 2014 but left to pursue his vision for Cardano.

A hard fork, like the upcoming Chang upgrade, is a significant change to the blockchain's protocol. It makes previous versions obsolete. While these upgrades can sometimes be controversial, they are often necessary for adding new features or fixing existing issues.

With the Chang hard fork, Cardano will implement on-chain governance. This will empower ADA token holders to choose representatives, known as Delegate Representatives or dReps, and vote on proposals for improvements and technical changes.

The Cardano Foundation explained, “This will mark the first step towards a minimum-viable community-run governance structure outlined in CIP-1694.” This means the Cardano community will play a key role in maintaining and shaping the network.

The core of this upgrade is CIP-1694. This proposal introduces various governance structures, including a Constitutional Committee, dReps, and Stake Pool Operators (SPOs). Once it’s in place, these groups will have the authority to manage and modify the Cardano blockchain.

The Chang upgrade is part of the Voltaire Era, the final phase in Cardano’s development roadmap. The Cardano Foundation states that this era aims to provide the final pieces needed for the Cardano network to become a self-sustaining system.

As Cardano approaches this pivotal upgrade, its impact on blockchain governance and community involvement is expected to be a hot topic at Benzinga’s Future of Digital Assets event on November 19.