\n<\/p>\n
The <\/span>Ethereum Merge<\/span><\/a> may be right around the corner\u2014but so is <\/span>Cardano<\/span><\/a>\u2019s Vasil hard fork.<\/span><\/p>\n Cardano<\/a> is a peer-reviewed <\/span>proof-of-stake<\/span><\/a> blockchain which supports <\/span>smart contracts<\/span><\/a> and <\/span>NFTs<\/span><\/a>, and aims to solve global challenges surrounding <\/span>identity management<\/span><\/a>. Its token ADA is the No. 8 cryptocurrency by market cap, according to CoinMarketCap data.<\/span><\/p>\n In a <\/span>livestream<\/span><\/a> on Friday, Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson shared a brief update on the Vasil hard fork, <\/span>named after a Cardano evangelist<\/span><\/a> and mathematician, Vasil Dabov, who recently died.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cExtensive testing is still being done,\u201d Hoskinson said. He shared technical details surrounding the hard fork\u2019s progress, including a number of bugs he\u2019s aware of that will need fixing.<\/span><\/p>\n Cryptocurrency <\/span>hard forks<\/span><\/a> occur when participants on a blockchain network agree to upgrade their software to a new version more or less simultaneously. It\u2019s a major upgrade compared to a soft fork, which is typically less time-intensive and allows network participants to slowly update their software over time.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Hoskinson\u2014who also co-founded <\/span>Ethereum<\/span><\/a>\u2014told viewers the hard fork will occur \u201csometime in September.\u201d Perhaps not coincidentally, the long-awaited Ethereum merge<\/a> is supposed to happen on or around September 15<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n The exact date of the Cardano fork, however, partly depends on crypto exchanges, Hoskinson said: \u201cThe next major lift is to get the exchanges on board. Binance is reporting that they\u2019re currently upgrading by volume.\u201d He added that \u201cgenerally, what happens is after a hard fork date is announced, you see a big rush and people push through.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Once the largest three to five cryptocurrency exchanges have upgraded their systems, \u201ca hard fork date will be set,\u201d Hoskinson said. \u201cThen, the rest of the exchanges feel the urgency and they start upgrading. It\u2019s really hard to get them otherwise\u2014they tend to need a bit of a push for that. <\/span>We\u2019re not quite over the finish line, but everything looks pretty good.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\nWhen will Cardano\u2019s Vasil hard fork happen? <\/span><\/h2>\n