Welcome to Intersect’s update #128

Update #128 is all about the numbers. GovTool has a new maintainer, led by one of the people who built it. Epoch 654 saw the new Constitutional Committee members begin new terms, 16 budget contracts funded, with over 74m ada and 22m USDx administered to vendors. 11 members stand for 2 board seats, with voting open from Monday 14, …... 3… 2… 1…. go!

Contributors: Bosko M, Ian H, Larisa M, Thomas L, Abhik N, Lorenzo B, Abbie Y, Intersect

Latest on Cardano upgrades

Dijkstra preparations continue to advance as the focus shifts toward mapping critical dependencies, enabling early testing, and giving ecosystem teams clearer paths to readiness. In parallel, work continues on protocol parameters, downstream tooling, and node diversity to ensure coordinated preparation across the ecosystem.

 

What can you do right now?

Join the Hard Fork Working Group weekly calls to contribute and get the very latest developments directly, subscribe to the Luma calendar. All outputs are also recorded on the Cardano Upgrades pages if you are unable to attend. Read the Upgrade Bulletin, a more technical update alongside this one, published weekly as an X article. The latest is available here.

Critical-path readiness is expanding beyond the node, with Dolos and Pallas identified among the important dependencies. Dijkstra hard fork readiness tracker has been expanded to include more granular network type readiness. At the moment, readiness percentage is considered against the mainnet only and other networks are contextual. Your opinion matters, share ideas on how it can be improved.

Mapping out dependencies is a complex piece of work. Feel free to use the readiness tracker and comment out on the dependencies for the particular items. You can also share your feedback on whether something should be considered to be on the critical path, there is an appropriate column for it.

SPOs, node operators, and ecosystem developers are highly encouraged to join the public testnets as soon as they are available to ensure timely readiness ahead of the hard fork to protocol version 12.

SPOs can join the Musashi Dojo now and help test Leios developments and provide feedback. An incentivized phase recently began with more details available here. A public DijkstraNet is anticipated following the release of node version 11.2.

Node developers can note 2 planned node diversity workshops in their diaries:

• Singapore (Token 2049), October 6
• Find more info and register your interest
• London, November 13-14
• Details to follow soon

Governance participants can monitor cap.intersectmbo.org for the planned Dijkstra-related Constitutional Amendments to be publicly proposed and join the discussions as soon as they are.

Constitutional Committee updates

The new Constitutional Committee has now been enacted, marking the completion of the 2026 CC election process, facilitated by Intersect.

A sincere thanks to KtorZ and Cardano Japan Council for their service and contribution to Cardano’s governance as their terms have concluded. Both have played an important role in the Constitutional Committee, taking on a demanding responsibility throughout their terms.

We wish them both all the best going forward, and welcome the newly enacted Constitutional Committee as they begin their new term.

Constitutional Amendment Portal (CAP) updates

This week saw a new submission to the portal, a new CIS was filed raising a question regarding the lack of a defined process for disclosing overlapping governance roles. Discussion continues across several of the longer-running proposals, with CAP-3 on evolving the Net Change Limit remaining the most active thread.

Regular CAP review sessions will begin from September 17, and will operate on a two week cadence, open to editors, authors, and anyone else interested in discussing ongoing CAPs. For increased timezone accessibility, the sessions will alternate between a 7AM UTC and a 2PM UTC session. You can join through the public Intersect Events Google Calendar. The first CAP Review session will take place on September 17, 2026 at 7AM UTC.

The CAP Portal remains in alpha, and community feedback continues to shape it. If you run into anything or have suggestions, please let us know.

GovTool maintenance and open source development

What is changing?
GovTool is now being actively maintained by Sireto, led by Sandip Pandey, one of the original builders of GovTool. The focus is on keeping GovTool open source, strengthening its open source structure, and making it easier for others to run and contribute to their own instances.

What does this mean for users?
There are no practical changes for users at this stage. Existing GovTool functionality will continue, with ongoing maintenance and improvements expected over time. Nothing is being removed or lost as part of this change.

Why is this happening?
GovTool was not officially being actively maintained, despite remaining an important piece of Cardano's governance infrastructure. Sandip and Sireto expressed interest in ensuring the project continued to be actively maintained for the community. Intersect supported the creation of the right structure to keep GovTool open source while giving Sireto access and control of its maintenance. Sireto has already started work to make GovTool lighter and easier to host and run independently.

Good news
GovTool is once again actively maintained by a team with deep expertise in Cardano, GovTool and open source development. We can expect further improvements in the near future, which the team will share through the GovTool X account.

Recently closed governance actions

 

Live governance actions*

 

*data from 2026-09-11 at 6:30PM UTC
Follow vote progress with your favorite Cardano explorers:
GovTool | Tempo | Cexplorer | AdaStat | CardanoScan | CGov | Civitas

Administration services updates

As part of the 2026 budget cycle Intersect, in its role as treasury withdrawal administrator, has successfully funded 16 contracts with 9 left to fund, which are currently going through the final procurement phases. Intersect has administered the transfer of a total of 74m ada, and 22m USDCx to vendors under the 2026 Treasury Reserve Smart Contract (TRSC) framework.

Acknowledgement goes to all vendors who have selected and trusted Intersect in the role of treasury withdrawal administrator, and to the Oversight Committee who have been pivotal in ensuring these funds are managed securely and reach Cardano projects successfully.

You can see the recently funded projects here - Cardano Treasury | Intersect Treasury Contracts 2

Intersect Knowledge Base tip of the week

Learn about the role that the Oversight Committee plays in ensuring treasury funds are managed responsibly, transparently, and in line with community‑approved governance actions, in our Administration Services Hub pages.

Intersect Board Election 2026 - Candidates Confirmed

Applications to stand as a candidate in the 2026 Intersect Board Elections have now closed. Eligible members will choose two candidates to serve two-year terms for the two member-elected Board seats on Intersect’s seven member board.

This year's confirmed candidates are:

• Adam Rusch
• Alexa K. aka Thyme
• Anuj Chaudhary
• Christian Taylor
• Eric Helms
• Ian McCullough
• Jose Miguel De Gamboa
• Kavinda Kariyapperuma
• Ken Erik Ølmheim
• Nana Safo
• Ridwan Itopa Musa

Candidate applications and profiles can be viewed and eligible members can cast their vote through the Intersect Member Area. Voting closes at 12PM UTC on Friday, September 25, with results published on September 28. The Intersect Board Elections are an important vote for members, where they have a direct say on who they feel should sit on the Intersect Board and decide who are the right members to guide Intersect forward.

Meet the candidates
Members will have several opportunities to hear directly from candidates during the voting period:

• Intersect Virtual Hub: | Register here 1PM UTC
• Candidate X Space 1: Tuesday, September 15, at 4PM UTC | [Set reminder]
• Candidate X Space 2: Tuesday, September 22, at 4PM UTC | [Set reminder]

The Virtual Hub session will include short candidate presentations and a Q&A while the X Spaces will give candidates a further opportunity to discuss their experience, priorities and approach to Board responsibility.
All sessions will use a fair, neutral format, with shared time limits and questions provided to candidates in advance.

Have a question for the candidates?
Send it to membership@intersectmbo.org with the subject line Board candidate question. Questions may be grouped or edited for clarity, and we may not be able to ask every question submitted.

Planning to vote?
To vote, members must have held an eligible Individual or Enterprise membership for at least 180 days before voting opened, be in good standing and have completed identity verification.

If your membership has recently expired, remember that you can renew within 180 days without losing your existing membership history for eligibility.
For full details on eligibility, the election process and what it means to serve on the Board, see the Board Election announcement.

Events: Token 2049 - Singapore

Cardano will have a dedicated presence at TOKEN2049 Singapore, and Intersect will be there as part of the Cardano booth.
TOKEN2049 is the largest gathering in the industry calendar. This year's edition takes over all five floors of Marina Bay Sands, with organisers expecting around 25,000 attendees from 160 countries, 500 booths and 300 speakers. The Cardano Foundation is a Platinum sponsor with a 108 square metre booth, and twenty ecosystem projects will present from it across the two days, and Intersect is one of the organisations on the stand.

If you are coming, tell us! - so we can make sure the right person is on the stand when you are.

Stop by the Cardano booth and talk to the team. Membership, governance, how administration works, what Dijkstra asks of your organization, all of it is fair game. With twenty ecosystem projects presenting from the same stand, you’ll see a good cross-section of what is being built on Cardano in one place.

Enterprise members

There’s a limited amount of space at the Cardano booth to display branded merchandise from Intersect Enterprise Members. Last year the member wall was one of the most photographed things on the stand, and a physical presence in front of 25,000 people is not something most organizations can arrange for themselves. If your organization is attending and would like to take part, get in touch with the Intersect team in advance. Space is limited.

📍 Marina Bay Sands, Singapore | 🗓️ Oct 7-8 2026 | 🤝 Find Intersect at the Cardano booth | 🎟️ Get Tickets | ✉️ Coming? Let us know

Come meet the team, learn more about Intersect, connect with the ecosystem, and help showcase the incredible organizations building across Cardano. See you in Singapore!

Enterprise member spotlight

Enterprise member Clay Nation turns five this month. Ten thousand hand sculpted clay characters were minted on Cardano in September 2021, the first handmade generative NFT collection on the chain. Five years on, it is one that is still building, and Intersect members walk through its work every time they open the Virtual Hub.

Clay Nation founders attribute their longevity to “a willingness to become something else without losing what it was”. In 2022 the project brought Snoop Dogg to Cardano, with clay animations, land plots and unreleased music unlocked through a new area of the Clayverse called Baked Nation, still one of the most visible moments Cardano has had outside its own community. In 2023 it became the first Cardano project to enter The Sandbox, and did it with cross-chain avatar interoperability, so holders could play as their Clay Nation character in a Polygon-based world while the NFT itself stayed on Cardano. Ledger has featured the collection in its Quests. Described as “three quite different kinds of projects, and the through line is the appetite to keep moving”.

The Intersect Virtual Hub is the most recent of these, and one that Intersect members will know best. Clayhaus, Clay Nation's studio, designed and built it for Intersect as a permanent space rather than an event platform. It is open 24 hours a day, with a main stage, breakout rooms and proximity-based audio, so conversations work the way they do in a room, drifting between groups rather than queueing for a turn to speak. Podium speakers can present to the big screen with video and slide support.

Every member has access from the Intersect Members Area. The Intersect Connect event runs there after each Monthly Members Meeting, and members have used the space for working group sessions, informal catch-ups and community events across time zones. If you would like to run something of your own in the Hub, email members@intersectmbo.org and we can support your ideas.

Enterprise Member Spotlights are intended to showcase the work and activities of Intersect members. Information about products, services, capabilities and activities is provided by, or based on information published by, the featured member and does not constitute an endorsement by Intersect.

What’s on X next week:

🗓️ Monday, September 14, ⏰ 12PM UTC: MCC Open Office Hours

🗓️Tuesday, September 15, ⏰4PM UTC: Intersect Connect - Board Elections 2026: Candidate Conversations

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.