Welcome to Intersect’s update #109

With April drawing to a close, we round it up with our updates. This last week has seen the Intersect facilitation of the ongoing Budget 2026 process, the close of Intersect Committee elections 2026, and preparation for the upcoming Constitutional Committee election process in May is up next.

As progress continues towards the van Rossem hard fork, Intersect has continued to fulfil its position of technical stewardship and coordination. The hard fork working group has increased cadence to twice-weekly meetings as the phased rollout across Preview, PreProd and Mainnet gathers pace.

Contributors: Bosko M, Kevin H, Hard Fork Working Group, Parameter Committee, Intersect Technical Steering Committee  

Cardano Upgrades

Momentum toward the intra-era van Rossem hard fork continues across node, infrastructure, and ecosystem coordination, with Preview now moved into the first live governance-driven activation stage. Readiness tracking and operational coordination also advanced this week as teams aligned around upgrade sequencing and integration expectations.

Node v11.0.1: Now fully released and mainnet hard fork ready. The delta between v10.7.1 and v11.0.1 is minor and is not expected to materially impact ongoing integration efforts. However, it was confirmed that node v10.7.1 cannot progress beyond the Protocol Version 11.0 hard fork boundary, meaning ecosystem infrastructure must upgrade to v11.0.1 in order to continue operating after the fork.

DB-Sync: DB-Sync 13.7.0.5 has been promoted to a full mainnet ready release with compatibility for node v11.0.1.

Timeline: The Hard Fork Working Group provided a green light for submission of the hard fork initiation governance action on Preview following a majority approval poll held on May 5, 2026. While consensus supported proceeding, concerns were raised that some tooling providers may have limited time to complete upgrades to node v11.0.1 before activation.

Preview governance action: The hard fork initiation governance action for Preview was submitted following Hard Fork Working Group approval, marking the formal start of governance-driven activation testing for the van Rossem upgrade path.

In Memory of Max van Rossem: “...Max believed in planting digital trees in whose shade he would never sit, and he lived that belief. From the earliest days of AmsterdamNode, running the AMS stake pool with friends, organising the Cardano Summit in the Netherlands four years running (2021 through 2024),

and enabling Amsterdam's first bar to accept ada, Max helped turn the Dutch Cardano community into one of Europe's most active hubs….”

Plutus cost models: A Plutus cost model protocol parameter update governance action has now been submitted on PreProd, with aimed ratification for May 16 meaning enactment aimed for May 21.

Ecosystem readiness is being updated on a daily basis, and you can track it via van Rossem upgrade readiness.

There is also the van Rossem Upgrade Update slide deck where you can get familiar with where do we currently stand, timeline, checklist, what's included in the van Rossem upgrade and why it matters.

Contributors: Civics committee, Thomas L, Ian H, Intersect, 

Constitutional Committee elections 

The registration period for the 2026 Constitutional Committee election will officially open today, May 8 at 21:45 UTC.

From today through June 7 at 21:45 UTC, individuals, organisations, and consortia may submit their candidacy to participate in the upcoming CC election process facilitated by Intersect.

This marks the beginning of the community selection phase, where potential candidates step forward to help uphold and interpret the Cardano Constitution as part of one of the ecosystem’s core governance bodies. The members elected through this process will later be included in an on-chain Update Committee governance action, with elected members serving a 2-year term if successfully ratified and enacted on-chain.

During registration, candidates will be asked to provide information about themselves or their organisation, relevant experience, motivations for applying, and the Constitutional Committee credentials they intend to use if elected. Submitted credentials will go through a verification process before candidacies are approved for the ballot.

The process is designed to be transparent and accessible while still ensuring that candidates are prepared for the responsibilities of the role. Throughout the registration period, supporting resources, documentation, and setup guides will continue to be published and expanded within the knowledge base.

Potential candidates are strongly encouraged to review all available material carefully before submitting an application. Weekly AMA sessions and community discussions will continue throughout the registration window, giving applicants an opportunity to ask questions, better understand the expectations of the role, and hear directly from current and former CC members about their experiences.

Useful Links:

CC Election Platform | Guides | CC Election Overview | CC Election Timeline

Civics Committee updates

The Civics Committee announced and congratulates returning members following the recent committee elections and also finalised and submitted its budget proposal during the regular scheduled weekly meeting.

Work on the Constitutional Amendment Process (CAP) continues, with public testing of the platform targeted for later this month. Committee members are currently testing the tool across devices and reporting edge cases and issues ahead of wider release.

A number of treasury withdrawal proposals remain in early voting stages. DReps and CC members are encouraged to review proposals ahead of upcoming expiry windows.

Recently closed governance actions 

No recently closed governance actions

Live governance actions* 

*data from 2026-05-07 at 2130 UTC

Budget Process

The proposal submission phase for the Cardano Budget Process 2026 facilitated by Intersect closed, May 8 2026 at 1200 UTC. In total there were 69 budget proposal submissions on the Hydra Voting platform, viewable here.
The process now moves to the final feedback and review stage. During this phase, no new proposals can be submitted but existing proposals can be edited until May 22, 2026 at 1200 UTC at which point they will be locked ahead of the voting phase which begins on May 26, 2026 at 1200 UTC.
Keep up to date with the timeline in the Cardano Facilitation Services section of the Knowledge Base.

IOE Modification Action

Whilst Vendors are going through the process of submitting their proposals on-chain, you can find all information about how to manage your milestones, how your legal contract is set up and how the smart contracts work - please explore these pages on the Intersect Admin Services Hub.

This is a dedicated section of the Knowledge Base, utilizing the feature set provided by GitBook to create a more intuitive, interactive and engaging experience. Covering themes such as Services, Guides, Public Reporting, Resources and Governance.

We would like to highlight the publication of the Mid Year Report, which provides a consolidated overview of treasury-funded vendor projects administered by Intersect between August 2025 and March 2026. Intersect's Administration service is run by our Operational Services team, combining experience in Project Management, Finance, Technical, IT, Procurement and Commercial.

Serving as an administrator in Cardano's funding process, Intersect helps turn community-approved projects into reality by handling the behind-the-scenes work; due-diligence, contracting, checking credentials, setting up contracts, and ensuring funds are spent in line with the contract.

Consensus Miami 2026

Intersect’s Terence McCutcheon attended Consensus Miami alongside ecosystem partners Cardano Foundation and other contributors.

Engagement was focused on discussions with infrastructure providers, financial institutions, developers, and enterprise organisations exploring blockchain adoption, interoperability, and governance models.

The conversations that took place over the course of the event reflected growing interest not only in Cardano’s technical capabilities, but also its evolving governance framework as a mechanism for long-term coordination.

The event provided an unmissable opportunity to strengthen existing relationships and establish new connections across the broader digital asset and financial technology landscape.

Pyth Pro now available on Cardano

Pyth Pro is now live on Cardano, introducing a new layer for accessing high-quality price data within the ecosystem.

Pyth Pro uses a pull-based oracle model. Rather than continuously pushing updates on-chain, applications request price data when needed and submit it to a contract that verifies its authenticity. This approach reduces unnecessary on-chain activity while maintaining strong guarantees around data integrity.

The data is sourced directly from institutional market participants, including exchanges, market makers, and trading firms. These inputs are aggregated into a single reference price with an associated confidence interval, providing transparency around both value and certainty.

Reliable pricing data underpins a wide range of use cases across DeFi, including lending, trading, derivatives, and stable asset mechanisms. Expanding the available infrastructure in this area supports continued development across the ecosystem.

Intersect contributors have supported readiness for integrations such as this through the Pentad workstream, including participation in early-stage development and launch preparation.

As Cardano’s ecosystem continues to grow, the availability of multiple complementary infrastructure components remains an important part of enabling innovation.

Committee elections 2026 update

The April 2026 Intersect Committee Elections have now concluded, with 102 candidates standing for 37 seats across eight committees. Members cast 3,967 ballots, reflecting continued engagement in the governance process.

Following the close of voting, Intersect undertook a routine post-election review, alongside an independent third-party audit. This process identified patterns in voting activity that warranted closer examination.

To ensure the highest standards of transparency and trust, Intersect works with an independent auditor Dquadrant to review election results and after careful review, and in consultation with the independent auditor, the decision was taken to proceed with the announced results, while initiating additional steps to strengthen membership verification and election processes.

We have published a separate, detailed statement outlining these findings, the approach taken, and the path available to affected members. Our focus remains on maintaining trust in the process while continuing to improve how participation is supported and safeguarded.

A warm congratulations to all elected candidates. Over the coming days, each successful member will receive their onboarding package, along with a welcome and appreciation from Intersect on behalf of the broader Cardano community.

To everyone who took part, whether by running, voting, or engaging, thank you for playing a role in strengthening the foundations of Cardano’s governance.

What’s on next week:

Constitutional Committee elections 2026

There are regular CC Election Process AMA sessions scheduled every Tuesday throughout the upcoming CC elections. Times alternate weekly to accommodate different time zones. These sessions are open for anyone with questions about the role or needs help with technical resources. Subscribe to the Luma Calendar

Intersect Virtual Hub

Reminder that the Intersect Virtual Hub is open 24/7 for members to use and organise their own meetings and events. If you would like to utilise the screen sharing features for presentations, an Intersect staff moderator can assist.
How to join the Virtual Hub guide on X

van Rossem hard fork

Now that progress towards the hard fork is in full swing, the Hard Fork Working Group meets every Tuesday and Thursday. Subscribe to the Luma calendar

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.