Cardano, a proof-of-stake blockchain platform, is set to upgrade its pre-production environment to protocol v8 on Saturday, Feb. 11 at 00:00 UTC.
An update proposal was jointly submitted by Input Output and the Cardano Foundation yesterday.
A step toward greater interoperability and security
This upgrade will bring new cryptographic primitives to the platform, encouraging greater interoperability and secure cross-chain decentralized application (DApp) development with Plutus.
This upgrade will allow the Cardano community to continue final-stage integration and upgrade testing before the upcoming SECP mainnet upgrade scheduled for Feb. 14.
Alex DovbnyaThe new built-in functions will support signatures such as ECDSA and Schnorr to provide the highest level of security for cross-chain applications.
Preparations for the much-awaited upgrade have been underway for some time. There have been positive results from integration testing.
The technology is close to being deployed on the mainnet, with over 80% of block-producing nodes already running the required new node.
Cryptocurrency exchanges have already been notified of the upgrade and decentralized application (DApp) developers have been informed in order to ensure compatibility.
Input Output Global (IOG) and the Cardano Stiftung will keep the community informed of progress, and the community is encouraged to stay close to IOG and Cardano Stiftung channels for the latest updates. The upgrade is a significant step towards making it easier for developers to build cross-chain applications while providing the highest level of security.
Dan Burgin
Yuri Molchan
Vladislav Sopov