Cardano Officially Activates the Van Rossem Hard Fork, What’s Next for ADA?
Cardano’s ADA Rises After Van Rossem Hard Fork, Can It Fuel a Recovery?
Cardano’s native token, ADA, traded around $0.1702, gaining 2.4% over the past 24 hours after the network successfully activated its latest major upgrade, the Van Rossem hard fork.
The upgrade raises an important question for investors: can Van Rossem transform Cardano’s technical improvements into broader adoption and support a sustained recovery in ADA’s price?
Van Rossem Hard Fork Goes Live
Cardano activated the Van Rossem hard fork on July 18, upgrading the network to Protocol Version 11. The transition was completed smoothly, with only a brief 10-minute block production gap and no reported impact on user funds.
The upgrade introduces faster Plutus smart contract execution, new built-in functions, updated cost models, and enhanced node security. These improvements are expected to make building applications on Cardano more efficient and cost-effective, supporting the growth of its DeFi, NFT, and real-world asset (RWA) ecosystems.
Van Rossem also marks a major governance milestone, becoming the first major Cardano hard fork approved through the Voltaire on-chain governance system. The proposal received support from more than 77% of Delegated Representatives (DReps) and 52% of stake pool operators (SPOs).
ADA Still Needs Stronger Fundamentals
Despite the successful upgrade, the hard fork has yet to trigger a sustained rally in ADA. Technical indicators continue to point to a bearish market structure.
The 50-week EMA remains below the 200-week EMA, while the Relative Strength Index (RSI) stands at 34, indicating weak market momentum. Meanwhile, the Average Directional Index (ADX) suggests the downtrend remains strong.
However, derivatives market sentiment remains optimistic. ADA futures open interest is around $193 million, with a long-to-short ratio of 2.84, indicating that most traders are still betting on a price recovery.
For ADA to establish a stronger uptrend, Cardano will need to deliver real ecosystem growth, including higher developer activity, more decentralized application (dApp) launches, rising total value locked (TVL) in DeFi, and increasing daily active users.
Upcoming developments such as Ouroboros Leios, Hydra scaling upgrades, Mithril, and Pyth oracle integration could also serve as future catalysts.
Whale Accumulation Continues
According to on-chain analytics platform Santiment, wallets holding between 100,000 and 100 million ADA now control more than 25.6 billion ADA, the highest level since February 2023.
Meanwhile, retail investors holding fewer than 100 ADA have reduced their holdings by about 0.7% over the past four months. Santiment noted that large holders, or whales, continue accumulating ADA while retail sentiment remains subdued.
The Van Rossem upgrade also comes ahead of Input Output’s (IO) plan to transfer responsibility for key Cardano infrastructure, including Plutus and Daedalus, to external organizations starting in August.
Overall, the Van Rossem hard fork strengthens Cardano’s technological foundation. However, ADA’s next major price move will ultimately depend on whether these improvements can translate into greater user adoption, capital inflows, and higher on-chain activity.
