Cardano Deploys Alonzo Hard Fork to Bring Smart Contract Functionality
- The Alonzo White hard fork brings Cardano’s smart contract era one step closer.
- Full smart contract functionality is set to be enabled by the end of September, IOHK said
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According to a series of tweets from Input Output HK (IOHK), Cardano has successfully forked the Alonzo testnet to the new Alonzo White node. The upgrade is divided into three phases — blue, white, and purple — each one created to enable a smoother transition into the blockchain’s Goguen era. The Alonzo Blue testnet launched in late May, providing Cardano’s core group of stake pool operators with a closed-off environment to test the blockchain’s smart contract functionality.
IOHK, the company behind Cardano, said that a new network has been launched as part of the Alonzo White hard fork and new partners have been onboarded. Further details about the new partners and members will be announced in the company’s mid-month update, set to be published on Friday, 16 July.
While the Alonzo network has begun successfully producing blocks, further QA work will be done on the node in the next 24 hours. All of the feedback and results of the testing that arise during that period will be addressed, with IOHK noting that it expects to implement a number of updates to the network in the following days. The Alonzo Purple upgrade is set to be released by the end of September when the Goguen phase will be fully released. This means that developers will be able to launch DeFi applications on the blockchain, opening up new use cases for the blockchain’s native cryptocurrency ADA.
- The long awaited Vasil upgrade had finally been activated, enabling increased network capacity, higher throughput, and lower transaction costs on Cardano.
- The upgrade gas also made significant improvements to the Plutus smart contract language, though its full capabilities will be unlocked on 27 September.
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- Cardano’s native token ADA has become the fourth asset to be supported by Sygnum’s staking platform, the rest being ETH, ICP, and YTZ.
- Although Sygnum first debuted its crypto staking service two years ago, it has already become an integral part of its business.
- On 26 December U.S. users will loose the ability to open new positions in ADA and TRX, and by 31 December will no longer be able to stake the tokens.
- eToro will limit the selling of the assets sometime in Q1 2022, after it has made its wallet compatible with ADA and TRX.