Upgrades seem to be the order of the day in the blockchain space. Just as the dust settles on the Ethereum Merge, Cardano Vasil upgrade is all set to happen on 22 September. All three “critical mass indications” required to start the upgrade have now been reached, according to the Cardano team.
Cardano’s Alonzo hard fork in September 2021 brought functionality for smart contracts to the blockchain. However, Cardano’s smart contract capabilities were often in doubt and seen as lagging behind Ethereum and other layer one blockchains. The Vasil hard fork aims to achieve smart contract enhancements, cost reduction, and increase in throughput on the network. Besides, the fork is slated for faster block creation which can be transmitted without full validation.
News of the upgrade seems to have a positive impact on ADA’s price. ADA has surged by 35.16% over the past seven days, according to market intelligence platform Santiment.
The Vasil upgrade was originally planned for June, but had to be rescheduled twice due to delays. However, Cardano’s crypto exchange constituents seem to have moved on over the upsetting delay. Input Output Hong Kong (IOHK), the company that created Cardano, announced via Twitter on 21 September that 13 cryptocurrency exchanges, representing more than 87% of the liquidity for Cardano (ADA), had certified they were ready for the hard fork.
Of the top crypto exchanges, Coinbase was the only exchange listed as “in progress” with its integration status. However, a recent tweet by Coinbase has hinted it will support the fork.
What will the Vasil upgrade achieve?
If all goes well, Cardano will be presenting its competitor Ethereum with its smart contract capabilities. Besides, ADA’s price is expected to surge once the upgrade goes live. However, going by the underwhelming ETH price action post the Ethereum Merge, all we can say is hold your horses and DYOR!
