Cardano’s journey as a blockchain platform has been marked by careful planning, peer-reviewed research, and a long-term vision for a decentralized and scalable future. Unlike many other projects, it wasn’t rushed to market but developed with a strong focus on security, sustainability, and governance. Its growth is divided into five distinct phases, or eras, known as the Cardano Roadmap. Each phase represents a key milestone in the network’s evolution, much like chapters in an unfolding story.
Phase 1: Byron (The Foundation)
The first chapter in Cardano’s journey is the Byron era, where it all began. The Byron phase laid the foundation for the entire network, giving birth to ADA, Cardano’s native cryptocurrency, and introducing the first version of the blockchain. This was a centralized version, where the control of the network rested with its developers and IOHK (Input Output Hong Kong), the research and development company behind Cardano. It was the necessary starting point, much like the first stone laid in what would become a grand cathedral. With Byron, users could begin transacting in ADA, and the platform took its first breath, setting the stage for what was to come.
Launched in September 2017
Focus: Laying the foundation for the Cardano blockchain.
Eras Included: Byron
Key Features: This phase launched the Cardano network and introduced ADA, its native cryptocurrency. It also included the initial, centralized version of the network, where Cardano was operated by the founding team and IOHK (Input Output Hong Kong).
Phase 2: Shelley (Decentralization)
The next chapter unfolded with Shelley, and it was a moment of transformation. The Shelley era signaled Cardano’s evolution from a centralized network to one driven by its community. Like a child learning to walk, Shelley enabled the network to begin decentralizing, empowering users to run their own stake pools and participate in the governance of the blockchain through staking and delegation. It was a significant leap, as the number of community-operated nodes began to grow, spreading the control of the network among its users. Cardano was no longer a project run by its creators alone—it had become something the community could shape.
Launched in July 2020
Focus: Decentralizing the network and promoting community participation.
Eras Included: Shelley
Key Features: Shelley introduced staking and delegation, allowing ADA holders to participate in securing the network by running or delegating to stake pools. This phase marked the transition from a centralized to a decentralized network, with a growing number of community-operated nodes.
Phase 3: Goguen (Smart Contracts)
After decentralization came the most anticipated moment: the ability for developers to build on Cardano. This was the era of Goguen, named after Joseph Goguen, a computer scientist whose work laid the groundwork for computational logic. The arrival of smart contracts on Cardano was like opening a floodgate. Developers could now write and deploy complex applications, opening the door to decentralized finance (DeFi) projects, marketplaces, and more. It was the Alonzo upgrade that introduced Plutus, a Haskell-based programming language, allowing Cardano to host smart contracts and offer something more than just a ledger of transactions—it became a platform for innovation.
Launched in December 2020
Focus: Introducing smart contract functionality.
Eras Included: Allegra, Mary, Alonso.
Key Features Summary: With the Alonzo upgrade, Goguen enabled developers to write and deploy smart contracts using Plutus, Cardano’s Haskell-based smart contract language. This opened the door to building decentralized applications (dApps) and decentralized finance (DeFi) on the platform.
Allegra Era (December 2020):
- Token Locking:
- Introduced token locking, allowing users to lock their ADA or native tokens in smart contracts for governance or other purposes (e.g., staking or voting).
- Token locking is essential for Cardano’s governance and smart contracts systems, enabling users to “lock” tokens for a set period to participate in protocol changes or staking rewards.
- This feature paved the way for decentralized governance in Cardano through its Voltaire phase.
Mary Era (March 2021):
- Multi-Asset Support:
- Added support for native tokens on Cardano, enabling users to create and transfer custom assets (fungible and non-fungible) directly on the Cardano blockchain.
- Native tokens are treated as first-class citizens, meaning they don’t require smart contracts to manage them, unlike Ethereum’s ERC-20 or ERC-721 tokens.
- Introduced decentralized finance (DeFi) and NFT capabilities by allowing the creation of assets like stablecoins, NFTs, and other tokens directly on Cardano.
- Users can mint, send, and burn native tokens with the same efficiency and security as ADA transactions.
Alonzo Era (September 2021):
- Smart Contract Functionality:
- Introduced Plutus smart contracts, allowing developers to write and deploy smart contracts on Cardano, opening the door for decentralized applications (dApps) and DeFi solutions.
- Plutus uses Haskell, a functional programming language, for writing secure and scalable smart contracts.
- Supported complex use cases like decentralized exchanges (DEXs), lending protocols, and NFT marketplaces.
- Extended UTxO (eUTXO) Model:
- Enhanced the UTxO model to support smart contracts, allowing for parallel transaction processing and improved scalability compared to Ethereum’s account-based model.
- Ensured greater determinism, meaning the outcome of transactions is predictable before execution, leading to more secure and efficient smart contract execution.
These upgrades collectively transformed Cardano into a multi-functional blockchain with native token capabilities and smart contract functionality, setting the foundation for a wide range of DeFi, NFT, and dApp ecosystems to thrive.
Phase 4: Basho (Scaling)
Yet, as more people began to build on Cardano, there was a need for something greater: the ability to scale. The Basho era emerged with a clear purpose: to make Cardano faster, more efficient, and capable of handling the traffic of a global network. This phase focused on improving the performance of the blockchain, ensuring it could process more transactions per second without compromising security or decentralization. Hydra, a layer-2 scaling solution, played a central role in this era, enabling the network to process multiple transactions simultaneously across different chains. Basho was the era of optimization, ensuring Cardano could stand the test of time as usage grew.
Launched in September 2022
Focus: Improving the scalability and performance of the network.
Eras Included: Babbage.
Key Features: Basho focuses on optimizing Cardano’s infrastructure to handle more transactions per second. It introduces Hydra, a layer-2 scaling solution that increases throughput by processing transactions in parallel, significantly enhancing the network’s capacity.
The Babbage era of Cardano, marked by the Vasil hard fork, introduced significant improvements in scalability, efficiency, and dApp performance. Key features include reference inputs, inline datums, and reference scripts, which reduced transaction size and costs by enabling the reuse of data and scripts. Collateral outputs improved handling of failed transactions, while Plutus V2 enhanced smart contract efficiency and resource management. These updates collectively increased throughput, lowered latency, and made Cardano more cost-effective and developer-friendly, better positioning the network for future growth and adoption.
Phase 5: Voltaire (Governance)
And now, Cardano is looking ahead to its most empowering chapter: Voltaire, the era of governance. Voltaire is about giving full control of the network to its community, ensuring that ADA holders have the power to propose and vote on changes, fund development, and steer the future of the blockchain. It is a step toward full decentralization, where the platform becomes not just a tool for developers, but a living, evolving ecosystem managed by those who use it. With on-chain governance and a treasury system to fund innovation, Voltaire will make Cardano self-sustaining—a blockchain truly by the people, for the people.
This upgrade will be split into two stages; The initiation of the Conway Era, aka Chang 1, is the first. Cardano calls this the “bootstrapping” stage, and releases the initial setup of decentralized governance features of CIP-1694. The Interim Constitutional Committee, or ICC, was introduced with on-chain veto voting power. Individuals will register to be delegate representatives (dReps) and campaign to be elected, and ADA holders will delegate their voting power to them.
The second stage, aka Chang 2, is to occur approximately 18 epochs (90 days) after the first stage, with estimates of possibly in early 2025. With the help of Intersect, a member-based organization for the Cardano ecosystem, they will oversee and facilitate self-governing initiatives for the ecosystem; all entities mentioned above can then vote on governance actions in this stage, with results concluding with treasury withdrawals.
Launched in September 2024
Focus: Implementing decentralized governance and self-sustainability.
Eras Included: Conway (AKA Chang-1), Chang-2 (Est. 2025).
Key Features: Voltaire will introduce mechanisms for on-chain governance, allowing ADA holders to propose, vote on, and fund changes to the protocol. This era also establishes a treasury system to fund future development, making the network self-sustaining and community-driven.
The Conway era of Cardano focuses on advancing decentralized governance through the Voltaire governance framework, allowing ADA holders to propose and vote on network decisions via an on-chain voting and treasury system. This era enhances stakeholder engagement, enabling more democratic control over protocol development and funding decisions. It also promotes Governance-as-a-Service (GaaS), allowing other projects to leverage Cardano’s governance tools, further decentralizing decision-making and empowering the community to shape the network’s future direction.
Conclusion
Cardano’s story is one of careful growth, built on the idea that decentralization, scalability, and sustainability must evolve hand in hand. Its five phases—Byron, Shelley, Goguen, Basho, and Voltaire—are not just upgrades; they are steps on a journey to create a blockchain that stands the test of time, offering innovation without sacrificing security or control. As each chapter unfolds, the network grows stronger, and the vision of a fully decentralized future becomes more tangible. Cardano is a story still being written, with the community holding the pen for the chapters yet to come.
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