Cardano News

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 "Layer Up" hackathon involved 134 developers across 92 teams during the Cardano Summit. The event featured an open innovation track and an AI-focused track by Masumi. Winners included BioFlow for health data and KarbonSense for environmental intelligence. The initiative aims to drive blockchain adoption through practical solutions, with future regional hackathons planned for Asia and Africa.

Input Output launched the Leios 24/7 development tracker, providing real-time, global visibility into the Ouroboros Leios consensus protocol. The tool showcases key milestones, active workstreams, and contributions, highlighting a "follow-the-sun" engineering model. This initiative reinforces transparency and accountability as the project transitions from research to implementation.

Cardano Summit 2025 in Berlin featured community-led sessions, cultural talks, and technical content from creators like Lido Nation and Sapien. Other updates include a "Cardano 101" developer meetup in Vietnam, transparency improvements to the Project Catalyst Milestone Module, and Robert Phair’s recognition as a new Ambassador. Additionally, Cardano Academy is offering a 50% discount on certification exams.

Intersect published "Facts at a Glance" regarding the November 21 incident. A malformed transaction exploited a deserialization bug, causing a temporary chain partition while the network remained online and funds were safe. A coordinated response, including upgrades to node v10.5.2/v10.5.3, successfully restored full convergence within 14.5 hours.

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.

A new proposal for an intra-era hard fork to Protocol Version 11 has been introduced, building on recently completed work for the core Haskell node. To manage the transition, a Hard Fork Working Group (HFWG) is being formed to coordinate ecosystem feedback, conduct impact assessments, and handle communication. A virtual session will be held to discuss the upgrade's impact and the traditional naming of the hard fork before any formal governance actions are raised.

Intersect has launched a Bug Bounty Program to reinforce the security of the Cardano open-source ecosystem. This initiative invites ethical hackers to identify and report vulnerabilities in critical repositories, offering rewards for valid findings. By crowdsourcing security research, Intersect aims to proactively discover potential issues, ensuring the network's resilience and stability while fostering a collaborative approach to maintaining Cardano's core infrastructure.

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.

Laura Mattiucci recapped Day 2 of the Cardano Summit in Berlin, where CTO Giorgio Zinetti announced a new stablecoin initiative and a Masumi hackathon. EMURGO CEO Phillip Pon discussed the organization's strategy for connecting technology, capital, and real-world value. Panels explored AI infrastructure, future disruptions, and the convergence of stablecoins with traditional payments, while masterclasses focused on digital identity and decentralized funding.