Intersect weekly update #103 March 20, 2026
Welcome to Intersect’s update #103.
This week we have the latest on the van Rossem upgrade, governance actions currently under discussion and live voting, spotlights on a vendor and an enterprise member, and news about the latest Town Square event.
Contributor: Bosko M, hard fork working group
Cardano Upgrades
Preparation for the next Cardano upgrade continues, with the Hard Fork Working Group coordinating readiness across node development, tooling, infrastructure, and ecosystem partners.
The group meets regularly and maintains open communication channels so that SPOs, developers, and community members can follow progress and test upcoming changes ahead of release.
Updates, readiness tracking, and working group discussions are shared through several public channels.
The dedicated #wg-hard-fork channel on the Intersect Discord server is monitored by the working group, and the Cardano Upgrades GitBook contains upgrade context, policies, readiness tracking, and meeting notes.
Meetings are listed in the shared Luma calendar, and regular community X Spaces are being held to provide additional technical walkthroughs and answer questions. The next one is to be held on March 26, so check the Luma calendar for the exact time.
Below is the current status of the upgrade cycle.
Cardano Node 10.7.0
- Target pre-release expected within a few days
- Benchmarking is not considered to be a hard blocker for a pre-release
- Dependent on performance results and integration testing, further minor releases may follow
- DBSync version that is compatible with 10.7.0 version of the node is expected soon after the node is released
- No serialization changes are included in this upgrade, so no issues with hardware wallets are anticipated
- Pre-release version 10.7.0 can be used for testing features
- Version 10.7.x will be promoted to v11 to fork Preview and PreProd testnets and subsequently mainnet.
Protocol Version 11 Plutus builtin demo
Protocol version 11 introduces new Plutus builtin functions: CIP-138 | Array type, CIP-153 | MaryEraValue type, CIP-109 | Modular exponentiation builtin, CIP-132 | dropList builtin and CIP-133 | Multi-scalar multiplication over BLS12-381.
As SanchoNet has been upgraded to Protocol Version 11, these new builtins are available for testing. Scalus’ smart contract tooling has been upgraded ahead of the hard fork to allow these builtins to be used.
See an example validator built with Scalus using Modular exponentiation builtin – ExpModValidator.scala. This simple validator:
- Reads data (base, exponent, modulus, result) via datum
- The validator passes if the result provided matches the computation from expModInteger .
Contributors: Civics committee, Thomas L, Ian H, Intersect
The weekly Civics Committee meeting reviewed ongoing governance workstreams, election preparations, and a joint discussion with members of the Technical Steering Committee (TSC) and Parameter Committee on a proposed protocol parameter change.
The main topic was focused on the size (member number) of the Constitutional Committee, which is currently set on-chain at seven members.
It was noted that as it stands this creates a risk where a single resignation or vacancy could temporarily prevent governance actions from progressing if the committee falls below the required threshold.
Following discussion, there was agreement to proceed with the earlier recommendation to reduce the minimum size from seven to five, while keeping the intended operating size of the committee at seven or more members.
The change is intended as a resilience safeguard rather than a reduction in committee capacity, and the governance action is expected to be submitted in the coming weeks once coordination is complete.
The committee also reviewed progress across other governance workstreams, including:
-
Finalization of the Constitutional Amendment Process (CAP) editor guidelines, expected to be ratified in the next voting cycle
- Ongoing work on the Governance Education knowledge base, planned for publication in early April
- Preparations for the April committee elections, with community X Spaces and Virtual Hub sessions scheduled to support candidate and member engagement.
Recently closed governance actions
No governance actions have closed since the last Weekly Update. The “Amaru Treasury Withdrawal 2026” proposal is currently meeting the required thresholds and could be ratified at the epoch boundary later today.
Live governance actions*
1. Amaru Treasury Withdrawal 2026
Type: Treasury Withdrawal 💰
Expires: March 25, 2026 (Epoch 621) 🗓️
Progress Report:
-
CC votes: 4 🟢 | 0 🔴 | 1 ⚪️ | 2 ⏳
- DRep votes: 69.54% / 67%
Thresholds: 5/7 CC members, 67% DRep active voting stake
More Info: Proposal | Vote Progress
2. Cardano Budget Process Framework (facilitated by Intersect)
Type: Info Action ℹ️
Expires: April 4, 2026 (Epoch 623) 🗓️
Progress Report:
-
CC votes: 3 🟢 | 0 🔴 | 0 ⚪️ | 4 ⏳
- DRep votes: 46.68% / 51%
- SPO votes: Not counted but the ledger allows a vote (5.10%)
Thresholds: Info Action will run for its full govAction lifetime, proposal seeks >51% DRep active voting stake support to proceed with process
More Info: Proposal | Vote Progress
3. Dingo: a Production-Grade Block Producer in Go by Blink Labs
Type: Treasury Withdrawal 💰
Expires: April 9, 2026 (Epoch 624) 🗓️
Progress Report:
-
CC votes: 1 🟢 | 0 🔴 | 0 ⚪️ | 6 ⏳
- DRep votes: 11.69% / 67%
Thresholds: 5/7 CC members, 67% DRep active voting stake
More Info: Proposal | Vote Progress
4. Cardano Defi Liquidity Budget - Withdrawal 1
Type: Treasury Withdrawal 💰
Expires: April 9, 2026 (Epoch 624) 🗓️
Progress Report:
-
CC votes: 2 🟢 | 0 🔴 | 0 ⚪️ | 5 ⏳
- DRep votes: 25.28% / 67%
Thresholds: 5/7 CC members, 67% DRep active voting stake
More Info: Proposal | Vote Progress
5. Cardano x Draper Dragon: Orion Fund
Type: Treasury Withdrawal 💰
Expires: April 14, 2026 (Epoch 625) 🗓️
Progress Report:
-
CC votes: 1 🟢 | 0 🔴 | 0 ⚪️ | 6 ⏳
- DRep votes: 8.68% / 67%
Thresholds: 5/7 CC members, 67% DRep active voting stake
More Info: Proposal | Vote Progress
6. Approve Cardano Foundation as New Managing Entity of Project Catalyst
Type: Info Action ℹ️
Expires: April 19, 2026 (Epoch 626) 🗓️
Progress Report:
- CC votes: 0 🟢 | 0 🔴 | 0 ⚪️ | 7 ⏳
- DRep votes: 30.33% / 51%
- SPO votes: Not counted but the ledger allows a vote (0.19%)
Info Action will run until April 19, 2026, proposal seeks >50% DRep active voting stake support for the Cardano Foundation to take over management of Project Catalyst from Input Output Group to ensure continuity of operations and timely distribution of funds.
More Info: Proposal | Vote Progress*data from March 20, 2026 0900 UTC
Contributors: Simo Simovic, Budget committee, Duncan S, Intersect Delivery Assurance
2026 Budget Process - Explainer Recap
Earlier this month (March 5), Intersect submitted a Budget Process Info Action outlining the proposed framework for a 2026 Cardano ecosystem budget process.
The proposal introduces a more structured and transparent way to allocate treasury funds, aligned with Cardano Vision 2030 and clear ecosystem goals. At this stage, DReps are not voting on funding; instead they are being asked to indicate whether they support using this process for the 2026 budget cycle.
Building on lessons from 2025, the focus is on making the process simpler and more consistent. This includes:
-
Standardized proposal templates
- Clear alignment with strategy and expected outcomes
- Defined participation thresholds
- A more structured flow from proposal submission through review to on-chain Treasury Withdrawal actions.
If approved, Intersect will facilitate coordination of the process end-to-end, while final funding decisions remain entirely with the ada holders through Cardano on-chain governance.
The goal is to make treasury spending more strategic, transparent, and outcome-driven, while preserving decentralized decision-making.
Delivery Assurance:This week, our vendor spotlight goes to Go Maestro Inc, whose project Complete Web3 developer stack, administered by Intersect, completed its final milestone with the delivery of the open-sourced Bitcoin indexer framework.
Maestro has delivered a comprehensive infrastructure solution that positions Cardano as Bitcoin’s primary smart contract and DeFi execution layer. Integrated with Maestro’s enterprise-grade UTXO infrastructure platform, these tools enable developers to bridge Bitcoin's substantial liquidity and large user base directly into the Cardano ecosystem. Maestro’s solution provides a complete suite of developer-friendly infrastructure services and tools, including:
- Blockchain Indexer: For real-time blockchain data querying and insights
- Mempool Monitoring: Enabling developers to detect transactions and on-chain events instantly, even before they are confirmed
- Event Notification System: Allowing instant webhook alerts for on-chain activities, significantly enhancing the responsiveness of DApps
- Wallet Manager: Facilitating secure, efficient wallet management, address derivation, and user transaction tracking.
These tools improve the developer experience, reducing complexity and integration overhead. By abstracting away blockchain complexities, Maestro empowers developers to quickly build and deploy advanced DeFi applications, wallets, and Layer-2 integrations, directly utilizing Bitcoin liquidity.
Maestro already supports numerous Cardano projects expanding into Bitcoin (eg, Fluidtokens lending protocol, Tokeo Wallet, Begin Wallet, Lace Wallet) and Cardano L2s like Midgard, Sundial, zkFold, and BitcoinOS. Recent support for Midnight further expands these possibilities, enabling private DeFi transactions anchored by Bitcoin’s economic security, positioning Cardano firmly as Bitcoin’s natural DeFi environment.
Further information on the Web3 Developer Stack project can be found here:
Website: https://www.gomaestro.org/
API Documentation: https://docs.gomaestro.org/
X page: https://x.com/GoMaestroOrg
Contributor: Terence M, Intersect
The Open Source Committee (OSC) recently approved the creation of the Developer Experience Innovation working group. In conjunction with the Product Committee, OSC established this working group to identify and address friction points across the Cardano developer journey, with a focus on improving tooling accessibility, documentation quality, and onboarding pathways. Through structured collaboration with ecosystem contributors and maintainers, the group has helped surface critical gaps in developer workflows. The group will align proposed solutions with real-world usage.
Additionally, the Open Source Committee and Intersect's Cardano Tech Team have reviewed the OSC budget proposal to ensure that the focus is on continuing and scaling high-signal programs that demonstrate clear value, and sunsetting or pausing those with limited traction. This transition enables a more focused budget outlook, emphasizing sustainability, measurable outcomes, and the responsible stewardship of treasury funds while maintaining flexibility to respond to community feedback and evolving ecosystem needs.
The Developer Advocates are approaching their second major delivery due date (End of Q1 2026). Be sure to check out the Project Board to see what has been accomplished. Feel free to leave a comment (praise, constructive feedback, constructive challenge) to help us continually improve the program.
Contributors: Abhik N, Intersect, Lara B, Intersect, Ian H, Intersect, Valeria D, Intersect
The first Town Square session was held on Tuesday in the Intersect Members Area, bringing members together in the Virtual Hub for a lively and interactive exchange. Thank you to everyone who joined and contributed. Your energy made it a success.
The session demonstrated exactly what this space is for: members connecting, sharing ideas, learning from one another, and building the relationships that make a community genuinely strong. We will use feedback from this event to evolve the Virtual Hub into an even better space for meaningful engagement.
Town Square will now be held monthly, with sessions hosted in the Virtual Hub. Members can access it easily through the Intersect Members Area.
New to the Intersect Virtual Hub? Here’s a quick step-by-step guide:
On desktop
-
Log in to the Intersect Members Area
- Locate the “Access the Virtual Hub” panel and click “Access now”
- Follow the on-screen instructions
- You’re in — enjoy the experience!
Legal Support Benefits for Intersect Members
Intersect has introduced new legal support benefits for members, delivered in collaboration with Storm Partners and Sentinel Legal.
These partnerships are designed to provide members with access to trusted legal expertise across the Web3 and digital asset space, covering regulatory guidance, structuring, compliance, and jurisdictional considerations.
Members can access these legal benefits and more in the Intersect Members Area Benefit area.
Enterprise Member Spotlight: Norwegian Block Exchange
NBX (Norwegian Block Exchange) is a regulated, publicly listed digital asset platform focused on bridging traditional finance with the Web3 ecosystem.
Built on a foundation of trust, compliance, and financial infrastructure, NBX offers cryptocurrency trading, custody solutions, and payment integrations, with a particular focus on making digital assets accessible to both individuals and institutions.
Their approach pairs user-friendly design with strong security and regulatory alignment, positioning them as a credible voice in driving mainstream adoption of digital assets.
As an Enterprise Member of Intersect, NBX brings expertise spanning finance, regulation, and blockchain innovation. Their involvement strengthens Cardano’s ecosystem by connecting real-world financial systems with decentralized technologies.
Learn more about NBX and their work by visiting NBX.com.
What’s on next week:
- “Inside the van Rossem Upgrade: Weekly Community Q&A” X Space hosted by Intersect Technical Steering Committee
Thursday, March 26, 2026 at 1630 UTC
Subscribe here: https://luma.com/calendar/cal-TMjYNpSY4huYYif
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.
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.