Cardano activated the Van Rossem hard fork on July 18, 2026, moving the network to version 11 of the protocol, as the hard fork reached the mainnet after months of testing, coordination, and governance discussions among developers, infrastructure providers, DReps, SPOs, founding entities, and the broader community.
This is a significant governance milestone in Cardano’s Voltaire-era on-chain decision-making framework. The price reaction after activation depends on broader market conditions as well as event-specific flows.
This news came as ADA surged almost +10% overnight, making it one of the best performing large-cap tokens in recent days. Its daily trading volume stands at $466 million, an increase of +12% compared to yesterday.
CARDANO ACTIVATES VAN ROSSEM HARD FORK, FIRST FULLY APPROVED UPGRADE VIA ON-CHAIN GOVERNANCE!
Cardano has activated the Van Rossem hard fork (protocol version 11).
This is the first hard fork of Cardano initiated, debated and ratified entirely via the Voltaire chain… pic.twitter.com/5aYKfEk6Dp
— Crypto Banter (@crypto_banter) July 19, 2026
CARDANO ACTIVATES VAN ROSSEM HARD FORK, FIRST FULLY APPROVED UPGRADE VIA ON-CHAIN GOVERNANCE!EXPLORE: The Next 1000x Crypto Gem Ahead of Its Listing on Binance
Three bodies voted, all said yes
Van Rossem’s hard fork initiation action was ratified on July 13, 2026 by the three governance bodies required by Cardano’s constitution. DReps, the community-elected delegates who vote on behalf of ADA holders, approved the upgrade at 77.63% against a constitutional threshold of 60%, according to the official Intersect MBO announcement.
SPOs (Stake Pool Operators – the companies and individuals that manage Cardano’s block production nodes) reached the minimum of 51% to 52.7%, a slim margin that caught the attention of the community. The Constitutional Commission, a seven-member oversight body, voted 6-0-0-1: six for, zero against, zero abstentions, one absent.
For context on how Cardano got here: Van Rossem represents a significant governance milestone in Cardano’s Voltaire-era on-chain decision-making framework. Technical work remains essential, but the decision to proceed ultimately rests with community governance bodies.
What version 11 of the Cardano protocol actually changes
The main technical objective is to update the Plutus Cost Model, Cardano’s smart contract cost model that underpins the pricing of on-chain smart contract execution.
The update includes increases to the cost model of some existing primitives (effective immediately after enactment) and is preferred before the hard fork to provide settings for new primitives enabled by the fork itself.
Intersect’s source also notes that the protocol includes ledger-related consistency improvements and updated benchmark entry rules, marking a huge step for the future of Cardano.
van Rossem hard fork update
The van Rossem hard fork has been successfully implemented on Cardano Mainnet!
We would like to take a moment to recognize the work of the Hard Forking Working Group in getting us to this moment. Coordination of ecosystem partners, SPO, DApps, etc. pic.twitter.com/SSleGfA5zE
– Intersection (@IntersectMBO) July 18, 2026
Van Rossem as a springboard to Ouroboros Leios
The upgrade is part of the broader path to Ouroboros Leios, the planned overhaul of Cardano’s transaction processing.
At the same time, broader market narratives around whale positioning and technical indicators may influence how investors interpret post-upgrade conditions.
ADA’s repricing depends materially on what comes next: Leios testnet metrics, DeFi adoption driven by Plutus’ evolving economy, and whether the community’s on-chain governance system, now battle-tested with a live mainnet upgrade, can continue to run without its founding company in the room.
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Cardano (ADA) Price Analysis: Can $0.18 Resistance Break as Bullish Price Action Continues?
$ADA
Cardano is finally trying to gain a foothold after marking the next downside target. A fourth wave corrective bounce is on the table, with room to move towards the $0.23 area if buyers actually show up.The problem: the largest bear structure has still not signed. Until the smallest… pic.twitter.com/vinelSBn6D
— MCO Global (@moretradingonl) July 20, 2026
Cardano is trading between $0.17 and $0.176, up +9% in the last 24 hours, making it one of the best performers on the market today. The move comes from a July low near $0.14 to $0.15, after hitting a multi-year low earlier in the month.
The recent rebound coincides with the network’s Van Rossem hard fork, activated on July 18, which upgraded Cardano to version 11 of the protocol with faster, cheaper smart contracts and stronger node security, a milestone that traders hope will result in sustained buying interest rather than a “sell the news” event.
Technically, ADA is trading above its 20, 50, 100 and 200 day moving averages, with an RSI above 60 and a positive MACD, suggesting constructive momentum in the short term. Short-term targets lie in the range of $0.188 to $0.195 in case the resistance is broken.
That said, long-term fundamentals remain mixed: Staking participation is among the highest in crypto, but DeFi activity, user growth, and new capital inflows are lagging, capping the upside from ADA’s past highs near $3.
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The article Van Rossem Hard Fork Goes Live: What Protocol Version 11 Means for Cardano appeared first on 99Bitcoins.
