Join us for the first edition of the SPO Table Talk with domain experts, where we dive into the latest topics on Cardano stake pools and infrastructure. This session covers a range of topics, from changes in SPO leader logs post-Chang hard fork to the refined VRF tiebreaker rule, block diffusion pipelining, and more. We also explore the evolving role of stake pool operators in Cardano’s governance era, featuring insights from Andrew Westberg, Martin Lang, Samuel Leathers, Alexander Esgen, Markus Gufler and Denicio Bute.

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The core technology teams released Cardano node v.9.1.1 to fix an issue causing nodes to replay from the genesis block during restarts in the Conway era. The consensus team introduced a snapshot-converter tool to convert non-UTXO-HD snapshots to UTXO-HD, resolving deserialization issues and a memory leak. The Lace team improved governance for hardware wallet users and prepared for v.1.16. The Plutus team completed built-in functions for the next hard fork. The Hydra team focused on network resilience and incremental commits. The Mithril team continued decentralizing signature orchestration and improving network operations. Voltaire marked Cardano's transition to community governance. Catalyst progressed in Fund12 onboarding and wallet integration. The education team prepared for Cardano Days events and supported updates in Plutus Core.

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The Chang #1 Hard Fork on September 1, 204, marks a key milestone for Cardano, initiating a new governance era. The first phase introduces an Interim Constitutional Committee (ICC) to oversee governance with limited powers, while Stake Pool Operators retain approval rights for protocol changes. The second phase, Chang Upgrade #2, expected in 90 days, will fully activate on-chain governance per CIP-1694. As Cardano enters the Conway era, the new Delegated Representatives (DReps) role is vital for governance, allowing ada holders to influence decisions. Early DRep registration requires a 500 ada refundable deposit.

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The ledger team focused on conformance tests, improving the ledger test suite, and preparing for the upcoming hard fork by documenting changes affecting DApp developers. The SRE team upgraded the pre-production network to the Conway era and made various infrastructure improvements. The Lace team is set to release version 1.15 with enhanced governance capabilities. The Mithril team is decentralizing signature orchestration and optimizing memory use. The Voltaire team prepared for the Chang #1 hard fork on September 1. Catalyst advanced Fund12 onboarding and achieved progress in the Hermes project, while the education team preps for Cardano Days.

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The performance and tracing team released node v.9.1 benchmarks, improved resource trace emission, and integrated non-systemd Linux support in cardano-tracer. The consensus team enhanced ChainSync client testing and reviewed the final Genesis statement of work. The Lace team is reviewing feedback from Rare Evo 2024 for future updates. Plutus team updated Plinth documentation, while Hydra launched the Hydra Doom project. Mithril completed stake distribution certification and drafted a CIP for signature diffusion. The Chang hard fork is set for late August, marking Cardano's entry into the Conway ledger era. Fund13 preparation continues, and the education team is gathering feedback and updating content.

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