Why is everyone waiting for Cardano’s Vasil hard fork, and what should you know about this

Cardano’s blockchain development lab, Input Output (IOG), has announced that a planned network update has been postponed. And this is not the first time this has happened. Presumably, we will have to wait for Vasil hard fork for a few more weeks. The development team thoroughly tests the system before launching for possible bugs, which it immediately fixes.

“There could be a few more weeks from where we are before we go to the actual Vasil hard fork… All users have to be ready to progress through the hard fork to ensure the smooth process for them and end users of the Cardano blockchain,” said Kevin Hammond, IOG technical manager.

The Vasil update, designed to increase Cardano’s scaling capabilities, has been scheduled for release on the test network in June. But the team has discovered seven bugs that prevented developers from releasing Vasil as planned, and the hard fork’s release date was postponed to June 29. At that time, it was also announced that exchanges and SPOs (stake pool operators) needed at least four weeks to test after the testnet hard fork, which took place on July 3.

But now, it looks like a hard fork will not materialize until the fall. And that is not a fact.

Despite the delay, the Cardano token (ADA) has risen 7.7% in the past 24 hours amid a recovery in the market.

What (and who) is Vasil?

Vasil is a hard fork. That is an incompatible change to the software used to test and create new blocks. Basically, this update aims to improve the Cardano network for all its users, as well as improve the development experience for Cardano developers using Plutus to build their decentralized applications.

Plutus, in turn, is a smart contract (a self-executing contract with the terms of the agreement between buyer and seller being directly written into lines of code) platform. It allows you to develop decentralized applications (dApps) that interact with the Cardano blockchain. It will make blockchain work faster and cheaper.

Cardano has had several hard forks in the past, such as Mary, which brought native assets and allowed developers to create custom tokens on the platform.

Many are wondering why the update is called Vasil. It is named after Bulgarian mathematician Vasil Stoyanov Dabov, a Cardano representative who passed away in 2021.

What are the Cardano improvement proposals (CIPs)?

There are several CIPs that are ready to be implemented on the network. In the Vasil hard fork, the implemented CIPs are aimed at improving the usability and capabilities of the Plutus smart contract language. Most important are:

1. CIP 31. The update will allow developers to view data without resorting to extra steps. This will make accessing information stored in the blockchain easier without having to spend and recreate UTXO (this is the amount of digital currency remaining after a cryptocurrency transaction is executed). This will be useful for oracles. Oracles connect blockchains to external systems, enabling smart contracts to run based on inputs and outputs from the real world.
2. CIP 32. With the introduction of inline datum, developers can create scripts and attach data directly to outputs instead of using their hashes. It simplifies the use of the data – the user can see the actual datum.
3. CIP 33. Certain transactions increased the size of the script, causing some delays in processing. Updating reference scripts allows developers to reference the script without including it in every transaction. This improves bandwidth and reduces the cost of running the script (you only have to pay for the script once).

What do Cardano users think of the delay?

The reactions to the news of the delay were varied. However, the majority of users were sympathetic to the delays because they believed that it is better not to joke about such serious things and it is better to delay the deadline than roll out a raw product.

The fact that #Vasil is delayed 2-3 weeks to ensure perfection should only make you more confident you’ve made the right choice. #Cardano 🔥🔥🔥

— SKLLRIPS (@SKLLRIPS) July 28, 2022

Cardano #Vasil got delayed 2-3 weeks to ensure quality

This should make you more confident on your investment #Cardano 🔑⚙️💎

You still have a chance to join $ADA

— Satoshi Saint.™ (@Satoshi_saint) July 29, 2022

Most have heard the word that #Vasil is going to be delayed. I don’t find this to be as detrimental as some. The point of #Cardano is to become an all encompassing blockchain that anyone and everyone can use. 1/2

— James Akerley (@AkerleyJames) July 29, 2022