IOHK, the global blockchain research and development company and developers of the Cardano blockchain has successfully decentralized block production on the platform. This means IOHK will no longer produce any blocks on Cardano, with the responsibility now fully in the hands of the blockchain’s community.
This is a significant moment in the total decentralization of Cardano, which will eventually achieve full decentralization of governance and network, meaning the community will be completely in charge of every aspect of the development and health of the blockchain.
IOHK’s handing over of block production has been a gradual process, carried out over the past seven months. This steady pace of decentralization has allowed the team to ensure the platform was optimized throughout the process. Control over block production has now been completely handed over to Cardano’s diverse network of more than 2,000 community stake pools.
Decentralization is at the philosophical heart of the Cardano blockchain both on a global scale when it comes to creating global financial operating system which can run autonomously from a central authority, removing the need for a middleman and democratizing access to financial services for all participants, regardless of location or background, and from a technical perspective in the proof-of-stake system which IOHK pioneered.
“Since the Shelley update in July last year, we’ve been working with our stakepool operator community to ensure that the steady transfer of responsibility for block production in Cardano is predictable and smooth,” product director Aparna Jue said. “This is a key milestone in Cardano’s development, as it is the first component of the handover of control to the community. This is a process which will continue throughout the rest of this year. Peer to peer network decentralization is next in our sights, along with implementing advanced governance features to hand control of the blockchain over to the Cardano community.”
