Chang

The Chang upgrade ushered in the Conway ledger era, a deeply transformative advancement for Cardano's governance, where any ada holder can submit or participate in the voting process for governance actions. The upgrade is happening in two stages, Chang #1 and Chang #2.

Conway, named after the eminent mathematician John Horton Conway, builds upon previous phases, emphasizing decentralized decision-making and enhanced smart contract functionalities.

What does Chang enable?

info

Learn more about Cardano governance and related terminology in CIP-1694 and this glossary.

Chang enables on-chain participatory governance through the implementation of mechanisms outlined in CIP-1694. This upgrade ensures transparency, inclusivity, and resilience of governance within the Cardano ecosystem. The Conway era is based on liquid democracy, which enables individual empowerment through democratic consent by leveraging a voting process with the option of direct and representative voting. Ada holders can vote individually on every governance matter, or delegate their voting power to delegate representatives (DReps) they trust in decision making. DReps consolidate the voting influence of numerous ada holders, ensuring that each participant can contribute to the future of Cardano’s development.

With the introduction of PlutusV3, Plutus scripts are available for use as part of the governance system, enabling sophisticated voting possibilities like supporting DAOs, for example. Chang also brings advanced Plutus cryptographic primitives, other new primitives, and performance enhancements to the platform. These additions provide developers with a richer smart contract creation toolkit, enhancing both developer and user experiences, and unlocking new possibilities for decentralized applications (DApps) on Cardano.

Chang’s key features

Decentralized governance mechanisms: through Chang, Cardano institutes on-chain decentralized governance mechanisms including a constitutional committee (CC), DReps, and a new governance role for stake pool operators (SPOs), fostering community-driven decision-making processes.

On-chain voting: Chang facilitates on-chain voting for governance actions, allowing stakeholders to propose and vote on protocol changes and other governance-related matters.

PlutusV3 ledger language: PlutusV3 introduces advanced Plutus primitives and cryptographic capabilities, enhancing the platform's smart contract functionalities. Cryptographic primitives are central to every blockchain, including hash functions, digital signatures, and zero-knowledge proof (ZKP) systems. These elements are designed for computational efficiency, ensuring robust security for their applications. PlutusV3 enhancements include:

• BLS12-381 primitives. This collection of new built-in functions is fundamental for cryptographic operations that allow for efficient verification of zero-knowledge proofs.
• New hash primitives. Blake2b-224 and Keccak-256 are new cryptographic hash functions used for validating transaction signatures (improving compatibility with Ethereum), and secure data verification respectively.
• Sums of products (SOPs). PlutusV3 introduces SOPs, a new approach to encoding data types in Plutus Core. This method improves script efficiency and code generation for Plutus Core compilers, leading to faster program execution and streamlined smart contract development.
• Bitwise primitives. The Chang upgrade brings two new bitwise primitives – `integerToByteString` and `byteStringToInteger`. Additional primitives will be added to Plutus V1, V2, and V3 with future upgrades. These primitives offer robust capabilities for low-level bit manipulations. This enhances performance optimization, cryptographic support, integer-string conversions, and efficient algorithms and data structures within smart contracts.

Additional functionalities you can expect

Conway also introduces several new functionalities:

• Reference scripts are enabled for Plutus V1 scripts. This enables legacy scripts to take advantage of reference scripts, reducing DApp costs and increasing on-chain capacity.
• The minFeeRefScriptsCoinsPerByte protocol parameter refines the Plutus cost model and improves fee calculations by allowing separate tuning of the costs for reference scripts.
• Adjustments to SPO deposits: SPO deposits are tracked individually, distinguishing between stake address registration deposits and stake pool registration deposits. This distinction has been retroactively applied all the way back to Shelley, facilitated by the static nature of deposits since their introduction.
• General ledger rules improvements.

The Chang upgrade in stages

Chang is gradually implemented in two stages. The first stage established foundational governance features, and the second will emphasize community-driven decision-making and governance.

First stage/bootstrapping

The first stage was completed in August, 2024. Its purpose is to enable initial governance features and lay the groundwork for Conway-era functionality. During this time, DReps can register, and ada holders can delegate their voting power. PlutusV3 was introduced, which included new governance features.

An interim constitution was established with safeguards supported by a technical guardrails script. An interim constitutional committee oversees the constitutionality of governance actions during the interim period, prior to ratification of a full constitution. The bootstrap period is used to form the group of DReps. Limited governance actions are supported, including parameter changes, hard forks, and 'Info' actions.

During the interim period, only SPOs and the interim constitutional committee can vote on governance actions, including possible protocol parameter changes. As an exception, DReps can participate in 'Info' actions at this stage.

The goal of the first stage is to ensure security and continuity during the governance bootstrapping phase, allowing DReps to register and campaign for delegation, while developing and ratifying a final constitution by early 2025.

The second stage/on-chain decision making

The second stage, which emphasizes decentralized governance, will be initiated by the community after the bootstrap period is complete. Intersect will oversee, establish, and help facilitate the community in self-government initiatives for the Cardano ecosystem. All governance entities, including DReps, SPOs, and the interim constitutional committee, can vote on governance actions during this stage. The conclusion of this stage will allow for treasury withdrawals.

Start testing on SanchoNet

Developers and enthusiasts eager to explore the new features introduced by the Chang upgrade can begin testing on SanchoNet.

SanchoNet is the testnet for rolling out governance features for the Cardano blockchain, aligning with the comprehensive CIP-1694 specifications. SanchoNet stands apart from other testnets; it's a vibrant, inclusive, and community-driven platform. Every community member is invited to join SanchoNet and actively contribute to shaping Cardano's governance future.

As SanchoNet advances in its journey of implementation and feature rollout, the community is encouraged to embrace specific roles crucial for testing and refining the governance mechanisms:

1. Testnet ada holders: as a testnet ada holder, your role is paramount. You can engage in crafting and submitting governance actions, and your insights will be invaluable to ensure that the governance system upholds the highest standards of security and efficiency.
2. SPOs: SPOs are the backbone of any blockchain network, and on SanchoNet, it's no different. As an SPO, you can take charge and run the testnet network with diligence and integrity and by voting on relevant actions. Your feedback will be invaluable.
3. DReps: DReps are the voice of the broader community. As a representative, your role involves participating in voting on governance actions. You can consider the collective interests of the community as you engage in these important decisions.

SanchoNet is more than just a testnet, it is a playground of opportunities. Within this space, the community can collaboratively create a governance system that is robust, decentralized, and truly community-driven. Your involvement, dedication, and passion will be the driving force behind SanchoNet's success.

Chang readiness

You can check engineering and ecosystem readiness for the Chang upgrade here.