Cardano’s native cryptocurrency, ADA, has surged back into the top 10 by market capitalization, regaining its position ahead of the highly anticipated Chang hard fork. Over the last 24 hours, ADA has experienced a more than 5% increase, allowing it to surpass Tron (TRX) in terms of market value. This recent surge underscores the growing excitement surrounding the Cardano network as it prepares for its next major upgrade.

Anticipation Builds as Chang Hard Fork Nears

The Cardano community has eagerly awaited the Chang hard fork, which is set to launch on August 27. After months of anticipation, the network became fully prepared for this upgrade in late July with the release of Node 9.1, the latest version of its validator node. Following the node’s release, it took several weeks for at least 70% of the stake pool operators (SPOs) to update to this latest version. Now, with the vast majority of SPOs on board, Cardano is ready to proceed with the hard fork.

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Cardano developer Input Output confirmed that SPOs, dApps, and exchanges are ready for the Chang hard fork. Jack Briggs, Intersect’s marketing and communications director, highlighted this progress, stating that “Chang is so close now.” He noted that updates continue to flood in, with regular changes to the hard fork readiness page.

Paving the Way for On-Chain Governance

The first phase of the Chang hard fork will lay the foundation for on-chain governance features within the Cardano network. This critical step will eventually unlock the network’s decentralized governance capabilities in the final phase. This forward momentum has certainly fueled the recent price surge, although ADA remains significantly below its all-time high of $3.09, reached in September 2021 during the Alonzo hard fork.

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Despite the ongoing excitement, it is worth noting that ADA is still down 88% from its peak. The previous peak was a result of the implementation of smart contracts, which marked a pivotal moment in Cardano’s development.

Now, as the network moves toward an era of decentralized governance, all eyes are on the impending Chang hard fork and its potential impact on ADA’s future trajectory.