Dijkstra batch validation was implemented so Plutus scripts for sub-transactions now run and their execution budgets count toward block and fee limits, closing a gap where validators and minting policies went unchecked. Withdrawals handling was reworked in the ENTITIES rule, TxInfo translation for protocol version 4 was implemented, and Leios protocol parameters landed in the Dijkstra era. Hydra closed a fanout wedge that could leave a head stuck after a partial withdrawal, stabilized broadcast connections under heavy load, and completed the Performance milestone.

Plutus moves from IO Labs to Midgard Labs, joining Se7en Labs, Teragone, ICAN Group, and BlockPQR as specialist teams maintaining core Cardano functions. Midgard Labs already audits and writes Plutus smart contracts, contributes to the Plutarch and Aiken ecosystems, and its CEO helped bring Plutus tooling into the Plutus Pioneer Program. The transition is coordinated openly through Intersect.

The Leios download logic was rewritten to bound time and memory, a transaction cache was added, unwanted node disconnects were fixed, and mempool ledger reads were capped, while ledger state garbage collection was threaded. Plutus merged casing on Data, advanced the keepPolicies and dropPolicies built-ins for the future Dijkstra era, and released Plu-tan 1.0, the static analyzer for Plutus scripts. Hydra shipped 2.4.1, a security release removing an optimized transaction-validation path that could let a malicious participant get invalid transactions into confirmed snapshots.

Benchmarks of Cardano node v.11.1.0 showed reduced CPU usage alongside a memory increase that is being addressed in the v.11.1.1 patch release. The Hydra team moved its specification to Typst, formalized it in Agda, and published native Linux ARM64 node images alongside AMD64, with faster Blockfrost query caching. The research team held its second Cardano Vision 26 workshop, covering data availability requirements and specifications.

Lace added support for the Keystone hardware wallet in both the browser extension and the mobile app, bringing the wallet to four supported devices. The Plutus team published release 1.68.0.0 with Plutus V4 ledger API types, cardano-init reached its first tagged releases, and Hydra moved persisted event payloads to CBOR, shrinking a three-node benchmark database by more than half. Plinth also gained a one-command install script.

Java developers can build on Cardano with the tools they already use, according to a Cardano Foundation walkthrough of the open-source BloxBean stack. Adding a dependency, writing a test and calling a REST endpoint cover most of what is needed, while the extended UTXO model and validator scripts can be learned gradually alongside. The post also previews three experimental Java projects now in development.

MusashiNet ran for 41 days with 63 pools producing over 127,000 blocks and 30,000 endorser blocks. Leios peaked at 26.8 TxkB/s, six times Cardano's current mainnet ceiling, and carried 54% of chain traffic in stable operation, moving 18x the transaction count of real mainnet traffic. A red team attacked the network without threatening the Praos layer, and the Water phase with a rewards program is live now.

The Leios team completed the Earth phase of MusashiNet, the public testnet, after 41 days that produced over 127,000 blocks and grew participation from three pools to 63. Under synthetic load the network peaked at roughly six times the throughput Praos reaches on mainnet today. The ledger team extended pool distribution with BLS keys, and the Water phase is now open on a fresh chain.

The consensus team released prototype-2026w32, with the node now announcing endorser blocks to peers as a first step toward announcement-based diffusion. Ouroboros-consensus 4.0.0.0 and 4.1 enabled the node to hard fork into the Dijkstra era. The Plutus team opened CIP-0194, CIP-0195 and a new problem statement for community review, and Hydra began rejecting deposits too large to ever be claimed.

The performance and tracing team completed Van Rossem hard fork benchmarks, while the ledger team advanced Dijkstra nested transactions and implemented CIP-50 pledge-leverage-based staking rewards. Hydra released 2.3.0 with a significant snapshot-processing speedup, YAML node configuration, and native HD wallet key support. The developer experience team completed its Community Alignment deliverable with a live ecosystem map, and IO research opened the Cardano Vision '26 Mid-Year report for community feedback.