key takeaways
- September will be a big month for blockchain upgrades, with both Ethereum and Cardano undergoing their most significant upgrades to date.
- Vasil Hardfork is hotly anticipated among Cardano loyalists, but Layer 1 has historically lagged behind its rivals.
- Vasil may be the rapid catalyst Cardano needs, but will it be enough to make the Hoskinson darling a real contender?
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Enthusiasm for Ethereum’s merge is at a fever pitch, but it’s not the only significant upgrade to happen in September.
Vasil in sight
Over the past few weeks, one story has been making headlines – Ethereum’s merge to proof-of-stake. The upgrade implements two big bullish catalysts – a 90% reduction in token issuance and a 99% cut in energy use – so it’s no surprise that Merge Frenzy is at a fever pitch with only a week until the upgrade ships. is reaching.
But Ethereum isn’t the only blockchain preparing for a big September. Input Output Hong Kong (IOHK), the company behind the Cardano blockchain, recently confirmed that the network will undergo its much-anticipated Vassil hardfork on September 22.
Similar to the Ethereum merge, IOHK described Vasil as the “most significant” Cardano upgrade ever. Vasil will greatly improve the functionality of the blockchain by increasing network capacity, reducing transaction costs, and enhancing Cardano’s native smart contract language, Plutus. These upgrades should help boost performance for end-users while also enabling developers to build more powerful and efficient applications.
It’s no surprise that big improvements like these are seen as a sharp tailwind. 2022 has been unforgivable, with the Fed’s rate hike and general macroeconomic turmoil weighing heavily on crypto. If Vasil succeeds, it could give Cardano the much needed boost to see it through the crypto winter.
However, it is also worth considering that Vasil may not be the silver bullet that Cardano fans have been hoping for. Last year, Alonzo, the previous hardfork of the blockchain, introduced smart contract functionality, finally putting Cardano on a par with other Layer 1 networks such as Ethereum and Solana. While Cardano’s ADA worked hard prior to the update, technical difficulties surrounding unspent transaction output became a major hurdle for app developers, and enthusiasm slowly faded.
Nevertheless, Cardano is famous for its dedicated community and charismatic leader Charles Hoskinson. Despite its backward development, Cardano loyalists continue to keep up with time and time again, and there is no reason to believe that supporters of the blockchain will jump ship anytime soon. However, the clock is ticking for older projects like Cardano. The Layer 1 space is becoming increasingly saturated, and new series such as Aptos and Needle that use more intuitive programming languages will likely provide stiff competition going forward.
Disclosure: At the time of writing, the author of this article owns ETH, BTC, and several other cryptocurrencies. The information contained in this piece is for educational purposes only and should not be considered investment advice.