Input Output Transfers Cardano Core Development to Outside Specialists; Van Rossem Upgrade Cuts Smart Contract Costs

According to Input Output's announcement on July 17, Cardano will transfer control of its core infrastructure—including the Haskell node, Plutus platform, Daedalus wallet, and Hydra scaling tool—to external specialist firms beginning in August, with the full transition running through 2027. The handover marks the final phase of Cardano's Voltaire era, shifting toward a decentralized engineering model overseen by community bodies Intersect and Pragma.

The Van Rossem hard fork activates on July 18 at 21:44 UTC, upgrading Cardano to Protocol Version 11 and introducing new Plutus built-in functions designed to reduce smart contract execution costs. The upgrade was ratified on July 13 with 77.63% approval from community representatives. ADA traded up 2% to $0.165 on July 17, though it remains down nearly 95% from its 2021 all-time high.