Cardano has activated its long-anticipated Plomin hard fork, opening what founder Charles Hoskinson describes as “the most powerful blockchain government in the world.” In a livestream titled “Welcome to the Plomin Era,” Hoskinson reflected on the network’s decade-long path and explained how its newly enabled governance structures will shape Cardano’s future.
Hoskinson recalled the project’s beginnings in early 2015, when he traveled to Japan to discuss what would become Cardano. He marveled at how far the community has come over the past ten years, saying, “It has been such a long journey and it’s been such an emotional journey of 10 years of my life. I flew to Japan in February of 2015… Now 10 years later, 2025, we are now the largest decentralized cryptocurrency government in the world.”
He attributed this success to the efforts of thousands of people worldwide, noting that engineers, stake pool operators, translators, and countless community members all contributed to Cardano’s evolution in ways often unseen, from late-night document edits to local meetups across multiple continents.
What’s Next For Cardano?
The first block in the Plomin era was produced by a stake pool operator referred to as “Barry Barry,” a moment Hoskinson used to exemplify the community-driven nature of the network. He emphasized the significance of Cardano’s new governance system, describing how the Plomin hard fork enables a fully functional tripartite government that grants the community a say on all major decisions. The three central pillars of this system—namely the Constitution, the budget, and the roadmap—are no longer simply defined by the core entities behind Cardano.
Instead, various proposals will be put forward, debated, and ultimately validated on-chain by the Delegated Representatives (DS), the Constitutional Committee, and ADA holders. Hoskinson observed that the recently drafted Cardano Constitution, ratified by a Constitutional Convention with a 95% to 5% vote, still requires on-chain approval. “It’s not your Constitution yet,” he said, urging community members to decide its ultimate fate through upcoming votes.
The budget, which involves a treasury of approximately $1.5 billion worth of ADA, stands as one of the most significant collective decisions ahead. Competing budget proposals are expected to emerge, with the Plomin governance framework granting the community, its representatives, and the Constitutional Committee the power to merge or refine these proposals into a final approach.
Similarly, the newly proposed roadmap, which was developed by Input Output in consultation with the technical steering committee and other contributors, will be subject to this on-chain process. Hoskinson referred to it as “a roadmap instead of the roadmap,” underscoring that ultimate authority rests with the Cardano user base. “You have three big things that are before you,” he said. “You got the Constitution, you got the budget, and you got the roadmap.”
Acknowledging the long-standing vision of full decentralization, Hoskinson claimed that Cardano has now “surpassed Bitcoin” in the Edinburgh Decentralization Index (EDI) and is “the most decentralized cryptocurrency project in the world.” In his view, this milestone shows that Cardano has both outgrown and transcended its founder while preserving his involvement. “Congratulations on being the first cryptocurrency since Bitcoin to truly escape its founder,” Hoskinson remarked, adding, “But unlike Bitcoin, I didn’t have to disappear. I got to stay.”
Looking ahead, Hoskinson enumerated future areas of focus that will help Cardano remain a leader in innovation. Although no longer relying on top-down development, Input Output will continue to work on new protocols such as Minotaur and multi-resource consensus, while also devoting resources to emerging voting mechanisms that can expand and refine Cardano’s model of decentralized governance.
He reiterated the pledge to “bank the unbanked” through RealFi initiatives and announced plans to introduce Midnight this year as a partner chain aimed at privacy, regulatory compliance, and mainstream adoption. He also expressed a personal goal to pioneer a shift for Bitcoin to embrace a DeFi functionality, explaining that Cardano’s technology—much of it originally inspired by Bitcoin—could help “awaken the sleeping giant” by providing Bitcoin with an avenue into decentralized finance.
Hoskinson acknowledged that the road ahead will not be without its challenges. Various stakeholders, from the newly empowered DS to the Constitutional Committee and the project’s core entities, may hold differing priorities and propose competing ideas on how to proceed with the constitution, budget, or roadmap.
Still, he anticipated that the community would find ways to bridge disagreements through workshops, negotiations, and thoughtful debate. “What happens if we can’t converge on the first vote to budget or the Constitution or we have trouble converging on a roadmap?” he asked. “People get tired of the dissent. They’ll figure it out.”
At press time, ADA traded at $0.97.
