Welcome to Intersect update #121
 This week's update covers the enactment of the van Rossem hard fork — Cardano's first hard fork to run through the full governance era — alongside preliminary results from the Constitutional Committee election and ratification of the Intersect 2026 core budget treasury withdrawal. Also inside: a completed zkFold Rollup milestone, the first Open Source Committee update in some time, a reminder to vote on the proposed Intersect Bylaws, details on next week's Monthly Members Meet, and where to find the Intersect team at Rare Evo in Las Vegas. 

Contributors: Bosko M, Ian H, Larisa M, Thomas L, Duncan S, Abhik N, Valeria D, Lorenzo B, Intersect

van Rossem hard fork update

The van Rossem hard fork governance action was enacted at the Epoch 644 boundary on July 18, 2026 at 21:44:51 UTC.

This was the first hard fork that had to consider and process multiple governance action ratifications at the time of enactment.

There was a ~10-minute gap before the first block was produced after the enactment of the hard fork governance action. Although the issue was transient in nature, Site Reliability Engineering (SRE) and engineering teams are continuing to monitor the network behavior. Observations during the transition into Epoch 645 showed no issues, with a block being created just ~15 seconds into the new epoch, well within the standard average 20-second block range.

This is the first Cardano hard fork in the full governance era, voted on by all three governance bodies: DReps, SPOs, and CC. Quite an achievement for the Cardano ecosystem and the whole community.

On-chain voting: The van Rossem hard fork governance action was overwhelmingly supported with 77.63% from DReps (60% threshold), 52.7% from SPOs (51% threshold), and six Constitutional Committee approvals (five required), with one Constitutional Committee member not casting a vote.

On the road to Dijkstra era

The Intersect Hard Fork Working Group is continuing to meet twice a week and is already discussing, assessing, and coordinating preparations for the next major Cardano upgrade, Dijkstra era hard fork. The group will continue to provide regular weekly updates on scope, timing, challenges and community contributions.

CC Election Update

DRep voting to signal preferred choice of candidates for the next Constitutional Committee has now closed.

This election ran until July 23 at 21:45 UTC, giving DReps the opportunity to vote for up to four candidates to move forward to the on-chain Update Committee governance action.

Preliminary results:

Based on these results, the four candidates currently set to move forward are: Philip DiSarro, Leandros BSP, Marek Mahut (deliberative.cc) , and Cardano Curia.

These results are still preliminary, subject to audit. (audited results expected by Monday, July 27).

After that, the on-chain submission is planned during Epoch 646, which starts on July 28. This will be the formal governance action to update the Constitutional Committee with the elected candidates.

Read more about why Intersect facilitates these elections in the blog. Thank you to the DReps who participated in the Hydra voting phase, and to all candidates who put themselves forward.

Recently closed governance actions

 

Live governance actions*

 

 

*data from 2026-07-24 at 09:00 UTC

** SPO votes not counted for NCL outcomes but the ledger allows SPOs to vote on Info Actions

Follow vote progress with your favorite Cardano explorers:

GovTool | Tempo | Cexplorer | AdaStat | CardanoScan | CGov | Civitas

Reminder: vote on the proposed Intersect Bylaws

Voting on the proposed updates to the Intersect Bylaws is well underway, and there's still time to have your say. The proposed changes have been developed to better reflect how Intersect operates today, improve clarity across Intersect’s governance processes, and align the Bylaws with the legal requirements for Membership Based Organizations in Wyoming.

If you haven't voted yet, please take a few minutes to review the proposed changes and cast your vote before voting closes on Wednesday, July 29 at 12:00 PM UTC. For a detailed overview of the proposed updates, the full Bylaws, and answers to frequently asked questions, please visit the Knowledge Base. Every vote helps shape the future of Intersect's governance.

Intersect Monthly Members Meet

Catch up on ecosystem developments by watching the latest Monthly Members Meet, featuring Intersect Insight followed by Intersect Connect.

Intersect Insight opens with updates from Intersect Leadership followed by updates on the Intersect Hard Fork working group activities, the Constitutional Committee Election, and recaps from WebX 2026 (Tokyo) and India Codex 2026. The session also highlights an Enterprise Spotlight, showcasing organizations contributing to the Cardano ecosystem.

Following Insight, Intersect Connect brings members together for open discussion, questions, networking, and collaboration as the community transitions into the new Virtual Hub experience.

Tune in next Thursday, July 30, 2026 at 12:00 PM UTC : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g2bQxXl7lwA

Meet Intersect at Rare Evo - July 29 and 30

Intersect team members will be at Rare Evo in Las Vegas next week, from July 28-31.

Come and find us at the Intersect booth, where we’ll be hosting a range of informal demos, spotlights and opportunities to meet members of the Intersect team, board and committees.

The booth is a place to talk so if you are at the Rare Evo event, please bring your questions, tell us what you think is or isn't working, or share the issues you want Intersect to hear.

You don't need to be an Intersect member or arrive with a prepared question. Everyone is welcome to stop by, join a conversation, watch a demo, or simply say hello.

Activities will take place across July 29 and 30, with details and times available at the booth – see the full Rare Evo agenda. We look forward to seeing you there!

That’s it for this week’s update. Thank you for reading. To learn more about Intersect’s work, explore the 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.