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Layer 1 proof-of-stake blockchain Cardano’s Chang update is live after the community unanimously voted to initiate the hard fork, allowing any Cardano (ADA) holders “to submit or participate in the voting process for governance actions.”

The Chang hard fork went live on Sept. 1 at 21:44 UTC, focusing on decentralization through implementing mechanisms outlined in Cardano Improvement Proposals (CIP) 1694. The proposal mentions that three distinct governance bodies will be introduced: a constitutional committee, a group of delegated representatives called “DReps,” and the stake pool operators (SPOs).

Apart from the governance mechanisms and on-chain voting, the Chang upgrade will feature a new ledger language, PlutusV3, which introduces “advanced Plutus primitives and cryptographic capabilities.”

The Chang hard fork is part of the Voltaire era of Cardano. The Voltaire era focuses on governance and aims to make the Cardano network a “self-sustaining system.” 

According to the Cardano Foundation, the first stage of the Chang upgrade will ensure security and continuity during the governance bootstrapping phase. The second stage will be initiated after the bootstrap period.

In the second stage, all governance entities can vote on the governance actions which will allow for treasury withdrawals. Meanwhile, the interim period will allow only SPOs and the interim constitutional committee to vote on governance actions. 

Commenting on the Cardano’supgrade, the Cardano Foundation said:

“Today's Chang hard fork marks a major milestone for the Cardano blockchain, ecosystem, and community––fulfilling the promise of a truly self-governing, decentralized network.”

Despite the latest upgrade, ADA, the native token of the Cardano network, still suffers from a 13.31% fall in seven days, according to the data from CoinMarketCap. ADA, currently trading at $0.331, is seated at the 11th position just below the Telegram-associated Toncoin (TON).