Welcome to Intersect update #118
In this week's issue, we get a green light for the van Rossem hard fork as all readiness criteria are satisfied, we invite members to participate in the upcoming vote on Intersect's bylaws whilst, meanwhile, the Constitutional Committee election is gaining momentum. We are also excited to preview the CAP Portal, a dedicated environment for shaping constitutional amendments. We're shining a light on Enterprise members Rare Network LLC as they prepare for Rare Evo 2026, and share the newest enhancements from the Intersect Members' Area.

Contributors: Bosko M, Ian H, Larisa M, Intersect

van Rossem hard fork update

Stake pool operator (SPO) adoption has been strong to date, with 89% of block production being made on node version 11 in Epoch 640. Exchange readiness has passed the 80% threshold by liquidity. DApps readiness also passed the 80% threshold. That means that all readiness metrics for ratification have been met. Therefore, hard fork working group had a vote on recommendation for van Rossem hard fork initiation governance action ratification and the results are, out of 17 participants:

Yes - 11
No - 0
Abstain - 3

The initial endorsement for ratification of the hard fork governance action was further ratified by the Technical Steering Committee.

At the time of writing, voting progress currently stands at:

DRep: 66.60% (60% required)
SPO: 43.37% (51% required)
CC: 1 Constitutional, 6 yet to vote (5 required)

Voting on the hard fork requires DRep, SPO and Constitutional Committee member votes for ratification. There are various sources for hard fork readiness that voters can use to make an informed decision:

• Cardano constitution
• General: van Rossem upgrade readiness page
• SPO readiness: PoolTool | Cexplorer | ADAtool
• Exchange readiness: CardanoScan | Cexplorer

For a technical deep-dive, read this week's Upgrade Bulletin.

For a less technical overview of hard fork progress, read this Intersect blog.

Contributors: Ian H, Intersect 

Coming soon: the CAP Portal

Intersect, the Civics Committee, and the Constitutional Amendment Process (CAP) Working Group is preparing to launch the CAP Portal, a new space for Cardano constitutional development.

The CAP Working Group has been especially important in getting this to where it is today. Since October 2025, the group has worked on the process, structure, and practical details needed to turn constitutional amendment ideas into something the community can review, discuss, refine, and eventually prepare for on-chain submission.

A CAP is a structured way for the community to propose changes to the Cardano Constitution. It gives anyone a clear path to raise an amendment, explain the issue, suggest new wording, and invite wider review before anything moves toward an on-chain governance action.

Not every constitutional concern starts with a perfect solution. That is why the portal will also support Constitutional Issue Statements (CIS). A CIS allows the community to flag a problem, inconsistency, ambiguity, or area of concern without needing to draft the final amendment text from day one.

This fills a missing piece of the governance puzzle. Cardano has mechanisms for voting, ratifying, and enacting constitutional change, but the community also needs a clear place where constitutional ideas can be raised, discussed, improved, and prepared before they reach that stage.

That is also part of Intersect’s role in the ecosystem: to identify practical needs in Cardano governance and help fill the gaps where no one else is currently doing the work. The CAP Portal is one example of that role in action. It creates shared infrastructure for a process the community will need over time, without taking ownership of the outcome away from the community itself.

Through the CAP Portal, users will be able to browse the current Constitution, compare proposed changes, submit new CAPs or CISs through a guided process, take part in dedicated discussion threads, and track each proposal as it moves through the review process.

This is not about rushing constitutional amendments on-chain. It is about creating a shared public workspace where ideas can be raised, improved, challenged, refined, bundled where appropriate, and prepared properly before the community decides what should move forward.

The portal is coming soon. In the meantime, you can watch this walkthrough video for an early look at how the CAP Portal will work.

CC election voting update

Voting is now underway in the Constitutional Committee election, with the voting period opening on Sunday, June 28. DReps have until July 23 at 21:45 UTC to cast their votes.

So far, nine DReps have participated, representing a total of ₳570.1m in voting power.

The current standings are:

The top four candidates are currently in position to move forward, but the election remains open and there is still plenty of time, and voting power, left before the deadline.

The Constitutional Committee is not a symbolic body. It is one of Cardano’s key governance safeguards, with responsibility connected to the Constitution and the integrity of the governance process itself.

For DReps, voting is the only way to influence which candidates move forward. Participation is not just a nice extra in an election like this. It is what gives the outcome legitimacy.

DReps should review the candidates, cast their votes, and help ensure that such an important governance body is elected through strong and meaningful participation.

Recently closed governance actions

Live governance actions*

Smart Contract Cancellation: Catalyst FC

Following the transition of Catalyst from Input Output Global to Cardano Foundation, a change request relating to the remaining milestones of Catalyst FC’s project, “Catalyst 2025 Proposal by Input Output: Advancing Decentralised Community Innovation Funding & Infrastructure,” actioned on-chain.

As a result, the final milestone, which covered the launch of fund 15 and closure of the proposal submission stage, has been cancelled. This milestone carried a value of 21 million ada.

The associated funds have been released from the Catalyst smart contract, and returned to the Treasury Reserve Smart Contract - from there the funds will be able to be returned to the treasury through the standard treasury return process. The change is an administrative function where fund 15 is no longer proceeding under the scope of the existing statement of work, and represents the largest movement of previously allocated funds.

The transaction of this cancellation can be seen on Cexplorer and highlights the need for a system of clear governance, treasury administration and a smart contract process in place that can accommodate project scope changes, or the funding is no longer required.

Contributors: Larisa M,  Intersect 

Ecosystem Reflection: The Work Behind Governance

As I write this, 26 active governance actions sit on-chain including a hard fork initiation, a parameter update, treasury withdrawals, info actions. Most of us encounter these as a vote or transaction on an explorer, but much less visible is the significant amount of coordination, and operational work required long before any action reaches that stage.

The committeeMinSize parameter update is a good example - (currently sitting at ~65% in favour with 75% required to pass) originating as a community-led proposal, its progression required collaboration across Civics, Technical Steering, and Parameters Committee ensuring alignment with other governance activities already underway. Reviews, metadata preparation, transaction assembly, approvals, and stakeholder coordination all take place in the background.

The van Rossem upgrade provides another example. Hard forks are often viewed as a single governance event, but in practice they represent months of ecosystem-wide preparation. Through the Hard Fork Working Group, testing was conducted across SanchoNet, Preview, and PreProd before progressing toward Mainnet. Coordination took place across SPOs, exchanges, developers, wallet providers, and DApp teams to assess readiness and identify issues. Intersect took the step of forking Ogmios and Kupo to ensure testing and readiness activities could continue without interruption leading to delays.

Then there’s the 11 treasury withdrawal actions currently progressing on-chain that originated from the community-led budget process and subsequent Hydra voting stages. Community feedback, proposal refinement, governance reviews, contract preparation, metadata drafting, transaction assembly, treasury administration, milestone structures, and independent oversight mechanisms all form part of the journey from proposal to execution.

Whilst all this marches on, work continues across Constitutional Committee elections, constitutional amendment tooling, governance participation initiatives, treasury oversight, security coordination, open-source stewardship, and ecosystem readiness efforts. These activities rarely attract headlines. They don’t launch shiny products or appear in glitzy metrics, but they do form part of the operational foundations that allow decentralized governance to function in practice.

Cardano has spent time building a governance system designed to outlast any individual founder, company, or organisation. There is still the need to mature further of course, but one important reality becomes increasingly clear: decentralization may change our responsibilities but doesn’t remove the need for coordination, stewardship, and operational infrastructure.

Contributors:  Abhik N, Intersect, Ian H, Intersect, Rosie G, Intersect 

Proposed bylaws update: member voting opens July 15

The proposed update to the Intersect bylaws is now seeking member approval.

Over the past two years, Intersect has evolved, and these updates ensure our bylaws accurately reflect our current governance processes while improving clarity and aligning with the legal requirements for Membership-Based Organizations in Wyoming. The proposed changes include updates to:

• General changes to ensure compliance with Wyoming Law
• Voting Rights and Requirements
• One Person, One Membership
• Board Size and Terms, and Board elections
• Executive Director ability to protect Intersect’s governance
• Annual Member Meeting (AMM)

Review the full updated ByLaws text here.

Voting opens in the Intersect Members’ Area on July 15 and will remain open for two weeks.

If you're eligible to vote, simply log in to the Members’ Area, select Voting Events from the left-hand menu, then click Active Voting Events to review the proposal and cast your vote. You can review eligibility criteria here.

If you'd like to learn more before voting, visit the Knowledge Base, where you'll find a detailed explanation of all the proposed changes, the updated bylaws, and a comprehensive FAQ to help answer any questions you may have. Also you can find in discord a dedicated channel for any questions or you can join next Thursday's open AMA (accessible via discord).

Your participation is an important part of Intersect's member-led governance, and we encourage all eligible members to make their voice heard by taking part in the vote.

Intersect Members Area: Release Notes

We are continuously evolving our Members platform to give you more control, better visibility, and deeper recognition for your contributions. In this latest release, we’re introducing seamless crypto wallet integration for committee members, a fully overhauled Benefits Card, and an exciting lineup of digital badges and NFTs to celebrate your ecosystem engagement and show participation.

Wallet Verification for Committees: Committee members can now securely connect and verify wallets with a single click, automating reward address setup. This feature launches alongside the traditional manual entry method as our new recommended option.

Upgraded Membership Benefit Section: We’ve upgraded the Benefits section on your dashboard to give a clearer view of what your membership has to offer!

Full Visibility for all tiers: Now you can view available benefits across every membership tier directly from your dashboard, making it easier to see what’s unlocked and what's available if you choose to upgrade. We hope to reveal some exciting new benefits soon from partnerships with our Enterprise members.

New Digital Badges and NFTs: In the past few weeks, we’ve been refining tracking systems to better recognize and celebrate member participation within Intersect. To honor your contributions and engagement, we have rolled out a diverse suite of digital badges and NFTs. The milestone badges allow you to showcase your involvement and leadership within our ecosystem, allowing other members to see your contributions - great for election candidates!
Recent releases include:
Intersect Board Election Candidate and Voters, Intersect Committee Election Candidate and Voters, Intersect Committee Chair and Vice-Chair, Intersect Open Source Innovation Contributor, Intersect Member Survey participants, Money 20/20 Asia Participant

Missed Intersect Insight | Q2 Highlights and Full Report?

Catch up on the latest updates from across Intersect, including key Q2 achievements, progress from the committees, leadership updates, and a look ahead at priorities for Q3. The session provides members and the wider Cardano community with a clear view of the work completed, ongoing initiatives, and what to expect next.

Missed it? Replay the full session on youtube here

MCC Open Office Hours

Join the Membership & Community Committee for MCC Open Office Hours on July 6 at 12:30 UTC.

This is an open community session where members can connect with MCC, ask questions, share feedback, and discuss current workstreams, membership experience, community engagement, and upcoming priorities. It’s a chance to have your voice heard and take part in shaping how the committee supports Intersect members and the wider Cardano community.

Join the X Space here: https://x.com/i/spaces/1AKEmmzDqNOKL?s=20

Member spotlight: Rare Network LLC

Rare Network LLC is an event services, marketing, and community-building company serving the blockchain and Web3 space, best known within the Cardano ecosystem as the organization behind Rare Evo, the multi-chain industry event held annually in Las Vegas. As an Intersect Enterprise member, Rare Network brings a distinct perspective to the membership: rather than building protocol infrastructure or applications, its contribution is bringing the Cardano community together in person, creating space for governance conversations, technical presentations, and cross-chain networking to happen face-to-face.

Rare Evo has become a recurring fixture on Intersect's calendar. The Budget Committee has presented at past editions of the event, the Intersect team has run dedicated Dev & Governance Day sessions alongside it, and past Rare Evo programming has hosted discussions tied to the Cardano Constitution and wider governance milestones. Rare Network co-founder Rand also serves as a community-elected member of Intersect's board, reflecting a working relationship between the two organizations that extends beyond a standard membership arrangement.

With Rare Evo 2026 scheduled for July 28–31 at the ARIA Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, Rare Network's Enterprise membership is a timely one - members looking to connect with the wider Cardano community in person, or to represent Intersect at the event, can look to Rare Evo as a key opportunity to do so this year.

What’s on next week:

Intersect Virtual Hub
Reminder that the Intersect Virtual Hub is open 24/7 for members to use and organize their own meetings and events. If you would like to utilize 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
With hard fork progress in its final stages, the Hard Fork Working Group meets every Tuesday and Thursday. Subscribe to the Luma calendar

Get involved
Public Google and Luma calendars are available to all. Committee meetings, working groups and events. Find something that takes your interest, join and participate.

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. Subscribe to the public Google and Luma calendars.