- Cardano’s Plomin upgrade gives ADA holders control over governance decisions through decentralized voting.
- The upgrade introduces Delegate Representatives who vote on behalf of ADA holders for key network changes.
- Plomin strengthens Cardano’s governance by requiring community approval for treasury use and protocol updates.
Cardano, the layer-1 blockchain developed by Ethereum co-founder Charles Hoskinson, implemented its Plomin upgrade on Wednesday. This update transitions the network toward decentralized governance, allowing ADA holders to participate in key decisions.
Tonight, Cardano evolves.
The Plomin hard fork takes effect, marking the transition to full decentralized governance. $Ada holders gain real voting power—on parameter changes, treasury withdrawals, hard forks, and the blockchain’s future.
A milestone in blockchain governance.
— Cardano Foundation (@Cardano_CF) January 29, 2025
The Plomin upgrade follows the Chang hard fork, which introduced foundational governance mechanisms. With this latest activation, ADA holders can vote on treasury allocations and hard fork proposals. This shift reduces reliance on Cardano’s founding entities, which previously controlled governance decisions.
Decentralized Decision-Making
A key feature of Plomin is the introduction of Delegate Representatives (dReps). ADA holders can choose from these representatives who all vote on the community’s behalf. Up until now, governance decisions were determined by the Cardano Foundation, Input Output Global (IOHK), and Emurgo. However, these responsibilities have been transferred to decentralized governance groups now.
Stake Pool Operators played a crucial role in this transition. At least 51% needed to approve the upgrade, with 85% of nodes running the latest version before activation. The network successfully met these requirements, allowing the upgrade to proceed.
Key Governance Changes
The Plomin hard fork introduces seven governance actions outlined in Cardano Improvement Proposal CIP-1694. These include voting on constitutional changes, approving treasury withdrawals, and initiating votes of no confidence against governance structures. Additionally, staking reward withdrawals are now restricted to accounts that delegate to a dRep. This measure strengthens decentralized governance by ensuring that only active participants influence key decisions.
For a hard fork to take effect, multiple thresholds must be met. In this case, over 85% of stake pools upgraded, more than 51% of operators voted in favor, and at least 67% of the Interim Constitutional Committee approved its constitutionality. These conditions ensured a smooth transition.
Future Developments
With Plomin now in place, the Cardano community is preparing for further improvements. The focus will be on enhancing transaction speed, incorporating privacy features, and increasing utility for developers. Governance will now be shaped by community-driven decisions, reducing centralized control and expanding ADA holders’ influence over the network’s future.
