What hard forks were implemented, and what functionalities did they introduce?
Hard forks in Cardano do not signify division and differences within the ecosystem. On the contrary, they define a specific and collectively agreed-upon exact time (slot) when all nodes switch from the current era to a new one, applying new functions, validation rules, or parameter values. All stake pool operators need to install the upgrade, and they also have a say and must agree to it. A Cardano hard fork is, therefore, not a separation but a precise collective evolution.
The launch of the Cardano mainnet and introduction of the ada cryptocurrency.Epoch 0Protocol Version: 1.0Transaction ID: N/A (Genesis block)
Introduced staking and decentralization features, transitioning from a federated to a decentralized system.Epoch 208Protocol Version: 2.0Transaction ID: N/A (Transitioned through several updates)
Added token locking capabilities, which was a prerequisite for the smart contract functionality.Epoch 236Protocol Version: 3.0Transaction ID: 1fbd16c1d1b1933f2f97a313db8c749bdcf65a39d996515b0f5e5535baad68e8
Brought native token functionality to Cardano, allowing users to create and transact with custom tokens.Epoch 251Protocol Version: 4.0Transaction ID: b7f5658a5aabced7f8599cf7bf7cb9d6f730b865a5a0430f2dc7488caf25752e
Introduced smart contract capabilities using Plutus, enabling the deployment of decentralized applications (dApps).Epoch 290Protocol Version: 5.0Transaction ID: N/A (Specific transaction ID not provided)
Epoch 298Protocol Version: 6.0Transaction ID: N/A (Specific transaction ID not provided)
Improved the scalability and performance of the network, named after Vasil Dabov, a Cardano community member.Epoch 365Protocol Version: 7.0Transaction IDs: 3abda97c78c71e8a21473529aca94d78d364dfa1a866ef8245885e18085b4e4c, 8230f33cd7ad3f8601e94ea2b18abdc591187e190ea8ebecc25e20fc66200f13
Introduced further improvements to Plutus smart contract functionality and overall network performance.Epoch 394Protocol Version: 8.0Transaction IDs: a83f479c5635e1e563a19f6e72a1be59fb082bbf31de90cc176850ee799b08ac, 62c3c13187423c47f629e6187f36fbd61a9ba1d05d101588340cfbfdf47b22d2
Introducing the first batch of decentralized governance features of CIP-1694. Enabling only parameter changes and hard fork initiations.Epoch 507Protocol Version: 9.0Transaction IDs: 9ba6a580bceb8f94e65a683e8291c89382835f46e3cf928eb521f5581ade4820, 4e377ceb5c5721257a3d7960f3053468bbea45ed8ac22cd559c69e757da5e0ae
Introducing the second batch of decentralized governance features of CIP-1694. Enabling the full set of governance actions and the DRep role.Epoch 537Protocol Version: 10.0Transaction IDs: 0b19476e40bbbb5e1e8ce153523762e2b6859e7ecacbaf06eae0ee6a447e79b9
Note that some hard forks, particularly Byron and Shelley, transitioned through a series of updates and may not have a single specific transaction id associated with them. For the others, the provided transaction ids correspond to significant parameter updates leading to the hard forks.