A preplanned protocol upgrade of Cardano (ADA) blockchain will take place later today, leading to the installation of Ouroboros BFT, an enhanced consensus system.
The overhaul is an interim stride between the prevailing Byron period and Shelley, which will initiate staking on mainnet.
Yesterday IOHK announced that the network overhaul will be implemented at 9:44 PM UTC, or 4:44 PM EST. The blockchain will go through a hardfork, even though Cardano team stresses that “it is a planned and managed protocol upgrade.”
The latest covenant is advancement over the initial Ouroboros “Classic,” which is presently live on Cardano’s mainnet. While Ouroboros is a demonstrably safe proof-of-stake consensus covenant, the original version went through multiple adjustments in decentralization.
Specifically, the directory of validators was fixed and their succession is recognized beforehand.
As part of the continuing improvements to Cardano, on the 20th of February, we’ll be updating Ouroboros on the Byron mainnet to Ouroboros BFT. ADA holders don’t need to do anything as part of this process. Find out more about this update here: https://t.co/PHxC1hdxYL
— Input Output (@InputOutputHK) February 19, 2020
Cardano’s Shelley program concentrates completely on terminating the “training wheels” and allow the community determine on block validators via staking. It will be backed by Ouroboros Praos, which incorporates several features to turn it extremely difficult for dishonest validators.
Between the two key periods, the Cardano group chose to divide the transition into two hard forks. The conclusion was made to guarantee that no disruptions to network service will happen as its confirmation is assigned to the community.
The core team of Cardano faced heavy backtracking in its Shelley program. While it was earlier planned to be unveiled before the end of last year, the core team was only able to roll out an reward backed testnet in December.
The testnet was a crucial stride in getting ready for Shelley, assisting the creation of a staking community in a secure ecosystem.
Meanwhile, Cardano is also taking steps on next phases, including smart contracts. Following a plan to advance timeline appraisal, Cardano is implementing the hard fork on time.
Last month, IOHK CEO Charles Hoskinson pledged a mid-February date for the update.
