Cardano node v.10.7 development and Leios endorsement block prototyping are advancing, pushing the network toward higher throughput. The Hydra team focused on performance optimizations and a Raspberry Pi demo, while Mithril prepared distribution 2603.1-pre with DMQ protocol support. Furthermore, Intersect is coordinating an intra-era upgrade to protocol version 11, laying the groundwork for enhanced governance and scalability features.

The updated Cardano constitution has been ratified and officially took effect on January 24, marking a pivotal step in decentralized governance. The ledger team finalized the design for nested transactions (CIP-118) and began implementing account address enhancements (CIP-159) for the upcoming Dijkstra era. Simultaneously, the Mithril team focused on SNARK-friendly libraries and prepared the infrastructure for the decentralized message queue (DMQ) network deployment.

The final development report for 2025, dated December 12, highlights the approval of the Pyth Lazer oracle integration and Serviceplan Group joining Intersect as an enterprise member. The consensus team completed LSM-tree work, slated for integration in node v.10.7. Mithril made progress on its SNARK-friendly STM library and Bitcoin DeFi prover prototype. In governance, a critical vote is underway to restore the Constitutional Committee to full capacity, while Project Catalyst Fund15's community review period closes on December 15. The Midnight Redemption portal is live, and the NIGHT token is now trading on exchanges like Kraken.

The ledger team finalized the specifications for nested transactions, while Lace v.1.32 launched with a new notification center and NIGHT token support. Hydra v.1.2.0 introduced the "SafeClose" feature, and Mithril advanced its SNARK-friendly STM library. Additionally, Project Catalyst Fund15 moved into community review with 761 proposals, and a 23-hour virtual Annual Members' Meeting was successfully hosted.

The Leios development tracker was launched to provide a consolidated view of the protocol's global progress. The networking team focused on Cardano node v.10.6, resolving cardano-tracer issues and preparing for P2P-only networking. Project Catalyst Fund15 proposal submissions have closed, and Intersect is preparing for its 24-hour virtual Annual Members' Meeting in the Virtual Hub.

The November 21 incident involved a mainnet chain partition caused by a malformed transaction, which was resolved with the hotfix node v.10.5.3. The ledger team defined sub-transactions for the Dijkstra era, while the Plutus team finalized costing for Value primitives for the upcoming hard fork. Lace v.1.31 was released with in-wallet token swaps and Bitcoin wallet support, and Mithril completed the first phase of decentralizing configuration parameters.

The consensus team addressed 'bufferbloat' issues and enhanced resource management following the Leios demo. Scaling updates include Mithril hotfix 2543.1 and Hydra's introduction of the 'SafeClose' safety feature alongside improved partial fanout. Intersect announced its election results following a high voter turnout, while Project Catalyst Fund15 launched with a new "Midnight: Compact DApps" category. Additionally, the education team is currently conducting a developer course in Buenos Aires.

The Plutus team hosted UPLC 2025 and introduced the scaleValue primitive for the upcoming hard fork. Scaling advancements include the Mithril 2543.0 distribution and the Hydra v1.1.0 release, while Intersect concluded its committee election voting. Additionally, the Ouroboros Phalanx upgrade was introduced alongside a new Compact DApps category for Project Catalyst Fund15.

The Hydra team announced the launch of v1, marking the protocol as production-ready. The ledger team finalized CIP-118, introducing nested transactions and Babel fees, while IOG published a deep dive on Ouroboros Phalanx to deter grinding attacks. Additionally, the consensus team showcased a Leios prototype, Intersect committee elections are currently underway, and Project Catalyst Fund15 is preparing for its official launch.

The ecosystem has reached a milestone of 2,014 projects, while applications are being prepared for .ada and .cardano gTLDs. Wanchain has launched a bridge to Sonic, and technical progress continues with Mithril's work on incremental snapshots and configuration decentralization. Furthermore, committee election voting is opening for the community, and Project Catalyst Fund15 is set to launch.