Welcome to Intersect’s Development Update #99. This week, we continue to progress the van Rossem Hard Fork, now that its name is official. Spotlights are on the Cardano Builder DAO and Coin Ceylon, and there is news from the Civics Committee and Delivery Assurance.

Cardano hard fork update

SanchoNet has been upgraded to the latest Cardano node release, and an accompanying DB-Sync pre-release is available.

Together, these mark significant milestones on the path to the van Rossem hard fork.

Cardano Node 10.6.2

• Release now available: 10.6.2
• Promoted from the 10.6.2 pre-release, containing hard fork functionality that can be tested on SanchoNet
• This release also contains improvements which strengthen node stability and networking
• The 10.6.2 release is not intended to be the mainnet hard fork candidate release. Version 10.7 will have further improvements making it the target for hard fork
• SanchoNet has been upgraded using 10.6.2 and is now running Protocol Version 11.

Key Tooling Release: DB-Sync 13.7.0.1 Pre-Release

• Pre-release now available: 13.7.0.1
• Compatible with Cardano Node 10.6.2 and potentially newer versions
• Supports hard forking to Protocol version 11
• Intended for testing on Sanchonet and other testnets.

Cardano Node 10.7.0

• Target release within two weeks
• Mainnet hard-fork-ready candidate release
• Will be used to fork Preview, PreProd and then Mainnet
• Formal benchmarking and performance tests ran.

Confirmation: van Rossem Hard Fork

Over the past week the Hard Fork naming info action submitted on the behalf of the hard fork working group closed for voting.

Final tallies put the DRep support at over 80% of all active DRep stake.

This represents overwhelming support, officially confirming the protocol version 11 hard fork as the van Rossem Hard Fork.

Keep informed

Join the dedicated Upgrade Discord channel at #wg-hard-fork (on the Intersect Discord server). This channel is monitored by the working group, with updates being shared and questions answered. Alternatively, you can reach out to hard-fork@intersectmbo.org

The hard fork working group currently meets every other week; see the shared Luma Calendar. As progress continues, the meeting cadence will increase.

The Cardano Upgrades GitBook contains important hard fork context, working group policies, readiness tracking, and working group meeting minutes.

Smart contracts and delivery assurance

This week, our vendor spotlight goes to the Rainfire DAO, which has a project - the Cardano Builder DAO administered by Intersect, which completed its last milestone this week with the launch of temp checks for its round 2 funding.

The Cardano Builder DAO is a smart contract-enforced, member-governed funding mechanism created to support growth at the application layer of the Cardano ecosystem. Its core purpose is to provide sustainable financial backing and strategic oversight to high-impact projects that drive user adoption, on-chain activity, Total Value Locked (TVL), and ecosystem engagement.

Through a transparent governance framework, strict accountability mechanisms, and a metrics-first funding approach, CB DAO ensures that builders with growing products on mainnet can scale sustainably, integrate cutting-edge Cardano infrastructure (eg Hydra, Leios, Midgard), and contribute to the ecosystem’s long-term success.

Civics

Civics met on February 19 to review committee operations, the 2026/27 budget draft, working group progress, and upcoming elections.

The committee discussed moving ahead with a draft civics budget proposal, working within a soft guidance ceiling, a supplementary session was scheduled to finalise details ahead of month-end timelines.

Working group discussions focused on the Constitutional Amendment Process (CAP) and Governance Education initiatives, including refining editor role definitions and strengthening research methodology to better measure participation and governance health.

Members also reviewed current on-chain governance actions and recent ledger behaviour, noting that constitutional guardrails operated as intended in a recent parameter update scenario.

Overall, the meeting centred on structural alignment, pragmatic budget preparation, and strengthening participation infrastructure ahead of the April election cycle.

 Open Source 

Last Opportunity to share your thoughts!

The State of Developer Experience Survey 2026 will close at 11:59pm UTC on February 27, 2026. Find and take the survey in your preferred language:

Take the survey here: English / French / Japanese / Chinese / Portuguese.

Membership and Community

Join us on February 26 at 12:00pm UTC for the February Intersect Town Hall, where we’ll share the latest updates from across the Cardano ecosystem.

This session will cover key developments including the upcoming Protocol Version 11 hard fork, active governance decisions, open-source progress, delivery assurance updates, and highlights from recent global engagements in Nairobi, Hong Kong, and beyond.

The Town Hall is designed to provide clarity on how Cardano governance is evolving, what changes are underway, and how members can actively participate in shaping the path forward.

Watch live here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4gsGhKQE4ys

MCC Open Office Hours:

The Membership & Community Committee will host its next MCC Open Office Hours on February 23, 2026 at 13:00 UTC.

This session provides members and community participants with a direct channel to:

• Ask questions
• Share feedback
• Gain clarity on current Membership & Community initiatives
• Understand ongoing MCC priorities and deliverables

Open Office Hours continue to serve as a transparency and engagement mechanism within Intersect’s governance framework.

Members are encouraged to set a reminder and attend via the official link.
https://x.com/i/spaces/1kvJpMMRMqQxE?s=20  

 Enterprise Spotlight: CoinCeylon 

Coin Ceylon is the first blockchain innovations firm in Sri Lanka to operate as a leader in empowering communities to enter the blockchain space through technology and guidance to new opportunities. As the country’s pioneer in blockchain innovation, education, adoption, and real-world community impact, it has a particular focus on the Cardano ecosystem.

The CoinCeylon x Intersect Hub plays a pivotal role in local adoption and serves as a space where innovation in blockchain development is shared through a variety of community initiatives. Its enterprise membership with Intersect further strengthens this mission through a mutually beneficial partnership.

As a result of this partnership, members of the Cardano community have easy access to its services and benefit from its contributions to Intersect governance and operations. Although based in Sri Lanka, its membership and participation in Intersect and the broader Cardano ecosystem give it a global reach.

The goal of CoinCeylon is to set the stage for worldwide blockchain adoption. Our community is strengthened by the fact that CoinCeylon calls the Cardano ecosystem its home base.

Governance actions

Status: The Increase Transaction and Block Memory Units (Part 1 of 2) Protocol Parameter Update was ratified on Feb 13 and is now enacted, while the Cardano DeFi Liquidity Budget Treasury Withdrawal failed to meet thresholds and was not ratified, and the Reduce CC Minimum Size Protocol Parameter Update is no longer eligible for ratification.

Active Governance actions

1. Net Change Limit (Epoch 613–713)
Goal: Establish a 300M ada treasury withdrawal cap through July 2027. This constitutional "guardrail" is a prerequisite for any future treasury movements.

Expires: March 10

DRep status: 29%

Threshold: >50% DRep active voting stake

 

That’s it for this week’s update. Thank you for reading. To learn more about Intersect’s work, explore our Knowledge Base, which provides detailed information on governance structures, committees, and funding. Additionally, visit the Intersect website for the latest news, updates, and roadmap information.

Join the conversation on Discord, and follow us on Twitter (X) and LinkedIn to engage with fellow members, working groups, and the broader community.

Your voice helps shape the future of Cardano governance.