Cardano is edging closer to a significant milestone with the release of Node 9.0, an essential update that paves the way for the upcoming Chang hard fork. Charles Hoskinson, the founder of Cardano, announced this development during a YouTube broadcast on July 8.

Released 12 hours ago, Node 9.0 is crucial because it brings all the necessary modifications for the Conway Ledger era. This includes the introduction of on-chain governance, support for Plutus V1 reference scripts, Plutus V3.0, and Plutus script signature. These developments position Cardano to transition smoothly into the Chang era.

Importance of Node 9.0

Hoskinson described Node 9.0 as the first version capable of supporting the transition across the 9.0 rigid fork boundary on the mainnet. The update initiates the bootstrap phase of CIP-1694, although it does not yet enable full governance protocol functionality, set to be introduced with version 10.0.

Integrating Node 9.0 involves rigorous testing by Stake Pool Operators (SPOs). These operators will independently assess the update, determining the appropriate time and level of testing needed for a smooth upgrade. "The SPOs are going to test this independently, and they are going to make decisions on a case-by-case basis of when and how to upgrade," Hoskinson remarked.

Once a threshold of 70% or more SPOs is reached, a date for the Chang hard fork will be announced. This step will officially mark Cardano's entry into the new era, where elected ICC members will provide credentials, and the Genesis Keys will be burned. ç Notably, at the reporting time, on-chain data from Cardanoscan confirms that SPOs are not yet ready for the hard fork. The Cardano founder stressed that he expects the transition process to start on July 8 or 9.

Steps After the Hard Fork

Hoskinson outlined three critical steps after the hard fork to fully activate Chang, marking the start of the Voltaire era. The first step involves turning on decentralized governance structures, which will occur 90 days after the hard fork.

Registered decentralized organizations (DS) will gain full voting power during this period. An interim constitution will also be activated, providing a framework for network stability.

The second step focuses on the community's role in building governance precedents. Community working groups will ratify roadmaps and annual budget processes, setting the stage for long-term governance practices.

According to the Cardano founder, this will include, "the community coming together and building out the precedence for how the government makes decisions, including the ratification of roadmaps and the ratification of the annual budget process."

The working groups will convene in Colorado to discuss integration into the budget and product processes, forming a co-equal branch of the Cardano government alongside the Constitutional Committee and SPOs.

Towards a Constitutional Convention

The final phase involves the Constitutional Convention. An interim constitution currently guides the network, but a more comprehensive constitution will be drafted and publicly reviewed. This document will be refined through global working groups, leading to a Constitutional Convention in Argentina.

Delegates from these groups will finalize the constitution, which will then be ratified on-chain. This will prompt a new election for the constitutional committee, marking the end of IOG's direct governance role.

Hoskinson charged everyone to get involved in the governance process, stating, "If you have a community, you need to become a DS, whether you're a decentralized exchange or you are an NFT project or a meme coin, whatever it might be - if you're on Cardano and you have a community - you owe it to your community to become a delegated representative."

According to Hoskinson, the journey towards the Chang era has been marked by extensive collaboration and innovation. The release of Node 9.0 follows two years of development, involving thousands of hours of work and numerous workshops worldwide.