Welcome to the Intersect dev update. This week, we have a humdinger of a report with the Intersect election results on the ground, a central stage takeover at the Cardano summit, Austin Texas Amm, Budget updates, Chang #2 progress, a new governance action report, Dreps, community and governance tooling, and more!
Celebrating the completion of Intersect’s first-ever full-scale elections
As Intersect continues to evolve, October 2024 marked a historic moment with our first-ever full-scale elections for our committees and governing board. This significant milestone, achieved with the active participation of our global community, reflects the spirit of inclusivity and collaboration that underpins our organization.
Results emails have been sent to all candidates, and the official announcement has been made on the member portal. The full results, including the votes for each candidate, can be viewed on our knowledge base. There is also a link to the audit results from DQuadrant. It’s important to emphasize that these results reflect our open and transparent voting process. 7,244 votes were cast by 574 unique voters, representing a 37% participation rate from our members. This election has set a precedent, showing that as our community grows, so does the range of voices shaping its future.
The results: welcoming our new representatives
We extend our congratulations to all the newly elected members who will take up the 31 available seats across the board and committees; we are liaising with the candidates to confirm their acceptance:
Intersect board - Kavinda Kariyapperuma, Adam Rusch Intersect steering committee - Yuki Oishi, Kevin Hammond
Membership and community committee - Sanjaya Wanigasekera, Matthew Capps, Ha Nguyen, Akheel Fouze, Darlington Wleh
Open source committee - Adam Dean, Johnny Kelly, Sebastian Pabon, Pedro Lucas
Product committee - Naushad Fouze, Samuel Leathers, Juan Sierra, Kyle Solomon
Technical steering committee - Adam Dean, Kevin Hammond, Markus Gufler, Ben Hart, Johnny Kelly
Intersect will run general onboarding sessions for our successful candidates from October 28 to November 8. These sessions will cover Intersect’s mission and structure and introduce the newly elected members to our committee support team. Each committee will also hold specific onboarding sessions to facilitate a smooth handover, maintain decision-making continuity, and elect new chairs.
Once again, thank you to everyone who participated, and congratulations to our newly elected members. Together, we are building a stronger future for Cardano through Intersect.
Cardano Summit 2024 Organized by the Cardano Foundation, the Summit brings the Cardano community together with other international experts and thought leaders. It also welcomes a wide variety of attendees interested in blockchain and technology and anyone curious about how Cardano’s blockchain is used to create impact worldwide.
Jack Briggs, Intersect's Ecosystem Director, looked ahead to 2025 and celebrated the recent committee and board elections. Intersect’s members continue to act as a driving force in ensuring Cardano’s development remains transparent, inclusive, and member-driven. Jack was followed by a thought-provoking panel discussion on Democracy 4.0 and how Cardano sets an example in decentralized governance. Jack was joined by Intersect members, Lloyd Duhon, Esytein Magnus Hansen, Seira Yun, and Adam Dean.
Jack Briggs delivered Intersects Keynote and introducing our newly elected members of the board Adam Rusch and Kavinda Kariyapperuma.
The masterclass was an excellent opportunity to share the latest progress in advancing a budget for the Cardano community to consider later this year and into the next. The masterclass was packed, with the interactive session encouraging open dialogue in an AMA style. Lloyd and Lawrence led the presentation, covering key topics such as the role of the Budget Committee, the 2025 outlook, and budget management strategies that we can consider as an ecosystem.
We need your input - 2025 budget survey!
As we begin designing a budget process, including drafting Cardano's first Annual Budget, we are committed to ensuring this process is as open and inclusive as possible. Your insights and perspectives are invaluable as we build collective input - leading to a budget that reflects the priorities and aspirations of our diverse community and, ultimately, Cardano’s technology.
This survey is designed to gather quantitative and qualitative data on various budget-related topics. By participating, you'll help us understand where you believe resources should be allocated, which initiatives are most important to you, and how we can best support the growth and sustainability of the Cardano ecosystem.
It was an exciting past weekend in Austin. Aside from significant events like F1, concerts, and college football, there were also two Cardano events! Things started with a constitutional workshop last Friday, followed by the AMM on Saturday from 12 to 4 p.m. CST. It was a unique opportunity to bring those from the CCW to the AMM. All in all, there were roughly 30 attendees.
Jack Briggs delivering a keynote at the Austin, Texas AMM
At the Austin AMM, members traveled from out of state to attend, and Awen led the launch of our new North American Intersect hub. Excellent connections were made and enhanced between Intersect staff and community participants, and these relationships strengthened with the Member Spotlights.
Nicodemus Rodriguez, an ICC Member host of the CCW, spoke about a DAO created to reinforce how governance on Cardano works. From the open-source office, Terence ‘Tex’ McCutcheon presented a recap of Intersect’s open-source efforts in 2024 and shared the plans for 2025. Adam Rusch, one of our newest board member-elects, presented the work of the Governance Working Group of the Parameters subcommittee, establishing the initial governance thresholds for the Conway Ledger era.
Joshua Stone from Book.io/Stuff.io delivered the keynote address for the Austin AMM. Joshua discussed digital media, its impacts on security, ownership, and value, and how his team is working to resolve the challenges ahead.
With so much going on this week, we’ll update you on the Mexican AMM next week.
The 11 blockchain tenets: towards a blockchain bill of rights
Next Wednesday, October 30th, Intersect will host an inspiring and exciting X space. Input | Output CEO Charles Hoskinson and Chief Scientist Aggelos Kiayias will deliver a talk on the recently published article 11 blockchain tenets, which outlines 11 guiding principles for how blockchain systems should operate and engage with their users. The article explains how the tenets capture essential goals and user rights. However, they aren’t designed to be mutually compatible or strictly enforceable, much like constitutional rights, which require careful interpretation and balance. We encourage all our members and anyone interested in the future of decentralized governance to listen and access the space here.
Chang #2 hard fork progress
The hard fork working group has continued to meet weekly to discuss everything related to Chang upgrade #2. As momentum started to gather pace, the group voted to meet twice weekly from now on.
The first of five governance actions required for Chang upgrade #2 has been raised, a massive step toward decentralized governance.
A pre-production governance action has been raised to update Plutus primitives ahead of the hard fork. You can see the governance action here via Cardano Scan. Earlier in the week, a test governance action was raised on the preview environment for the same Plutus updates. It can be seen here on GovTool.
The core development team released Cardano node 10.1.0-pre this week. DApps and other ecosystem developers should start testing now, ahead of the governance action for the mainnet hard fork.
These latest details and an illustrative timeline can be found on the knowledge base.
Where to find information We appreciate the community's support and engagement throughout this process. Here are the official channels where you can find the latest updates on Chang #2:
Chang #2 Timeline Blog - A more detailed timeline update
Chang #2 knowledge space - for the most detailed and up-to-date information
Intersect Discord #wg-hardfork channel - join the conversation and stay engaged with real-time updates
Intersect Twitter (@Intersectmbo) - follow us for critical announcements and highlights.
DReps - Cardano governance explained
Delegated Representatives (DReps) strengthen Cardano's governance model, enhancing decentralized decision-making across the platform. With voting power granted proportionate to delegated ada, DReps take on critical roles in ensuring the community’s views are reflected in Cardano’s evolving governance framework. Intersect provides resources and structure for these representatives, helping uphold transparency and accountability as they engage with the community - Read more in this blog.
Becoming a DRep
Any ada holder can register as a DRep through platforms like Cardano GovTool, and they are responsible for reviewing and voting on governance actions. DReps will engage with the community, build support, and maintain transparency to uphold delegators' trust. This system ensures that Cardano’s governance decisions reflect the voice of its community. DRep working group This is an exciting update for members! We've launched the DRep working group, where we’ll hold weekly sessions to empower DReps with the tools, guidance, and support needed for informed budget decisions. If you're a member, don't miss out – your insights are key! Head over to the #Wg-dreps-budget-approval channel on Discord.
Membership and community
The inaugural AMM events in Mexico and Austin were a huge success. Both events were well attended, with diverse attendees—precisely what we welcome here at Intersect. We have received fantastic feedback from our members and look forward to implementing their ideas as Intersect’s membership offering grows and develops into 2025.
Our team has been in Dubai at the Cardano Summit, and it’s been an excellent opportunity to engage with the Cardano community, ecosystem partners, and 100s of members. Look out for more updates on this over the coming weeks.
Note: for those who’d like to upgrade their membership from associate to individual or enterprise, log in to your members' area and follow the steps or contact the membership team members@intersectmbo.org
This week's membership stats are as follows:
New governance actions report As the landscape of Cardano Governance is constantly changing, with new governance actions being raised and voted upon, we felt it essential to cut through the noise and report on the latest governance actions. Moving forward, we will offer aconciseandinformativeoverviewofkeydevelopmentsinthegovernanceprocess in this new weekly bulletin. It is designed to keep everyone informed, from ada holders to DReps, ICCs, and SPOs. Each week, you will get updates on:
Ongoing governance actions – see which proposals are live and where to find more information.
Hard fork working group progress – follow the advancements of the hard fork working group towards Chang #2.
Constitution development – get a birds-eye view of the development process of the final Cardano constitution.
(Coming Soon) budget updates – gain insights into the development of the upcoming Cardano budget for 2025.
You can follow these reports directly on our knowledge base. Additionally, you can stay updated with the latest governance actions in Discord's #governance-actions announcements channel.
Open sourceOpen source
In the open source world this week, Intersect’s Head of Open Source, Christian Taylor, has been nominated for the TODO Group Steering Committee for 2025, marking a significant personal achievement. Under the umbrella of the Linux Foundation, the TODO Group is instrumental in shaping the direction and best practices of Open Source Program Offices (OSPOs) across industries. This nomination is a testament to Intersect’s and Cardano’s growing influence and showcases our commitment to elevating open-source standards and fostering collaboration across global technology ecosystems.
Christian’s nomination reflects his dedication to advancing Cardano’s open-source development at Intersect, where his leadership has been pivotal in driving forward governance and sustainability initiatives. It signifies a milestone in our open-source maturity, highlighting our organization’s strategic efforts to contribute to global standards and sustainable development. This recognition affirms our position as leaders in open-source, ready to shape the future of collaborative software development.
Also, be sure to check out the latest two Cardano project spotlights:
Watch Intersect’s Terence (Tex) McCutcheon as he interviews Ronald Span from DQuadrant Project Spotlight DQuadrant (youtube.com). Ronald started as a stake pool operator and has begun the DQuadrant enterprise, whose mission is to help Cardano become a successful blockchain many people use.
Secondly, Tex interviews Rich Manderino, operator of the Cardano stake pool Earn Coin PoolStake Pool Spotlight - Earn Coin Pool (youtube.com). Earn Coin Pool is a mission-driven pool that supports Angel Tracks, a charity that provides financial assistance to families whose pets have cancer.
Join the core infrastructure roadmap (CIR) working group weekly meetings
The core infrastructure roadmap (CIR) working group invites all community members to join our weekly meetings. As a key part of Intersect, the CIR-WG plays a crucial role in supporting the long-term stability and strategic development of Cardano.
Pillar 3 – Orchestrate the delivery of the community-approved Cardano Roadmap.
Pillar 4 – Facilitate the continuity of Cardano to ensure system stability.
The working group focuses on defining and organizing the scope of items and categories within the shared Cardano roadmap, designing the review process for these items, and ultimately securing their approval for funding.
Why join the CIR-WG meetings?
Open to all - everyone is welcome to participate, whether you’re a seasoned community member or just starting. Share your insights and contribute directly to discussions.
Weekly sessions - meetings occur every Monday, alternating between a 2-hour session from 16:00 to 18:00 UTC and a 1-hour session from 16:00 to 17:00 UTC. Note: Meeting times may change soon due to updates from the co-chair leadership.
Public and transparent - all meetings are open, recorded, and made accessible, ensuring transparency and accountability.
Transparency and open communication are central to our work, helping to build trust and maintain accountability within the community. If you’re interested in joining, please contact product-committee@intersectmbo.org to receive an invitation. Also, bookmark our Knowledge Base for regular updates on meeting topics and developments, and follow us on our Discord #cir-wg-general-chat channel.
We look forward to your participation and to fostering meaningful progress together!
And that’s a wrap - constitutional workshops
The Cardano community has completed a series of 64 constitutional workshops, engaging over 1,300 participants across six continents. This initiative, crucial to Cardano's evolution, saw community members discuss the draft constitution for Cardano.
Hosted by community members with support from Intersect, the workshops generated over 5,000 answers to key questions, shaping the discourse around Cardano's constitutional framework. This collaborative effort ensured diverse perspectives from the global Cardano community were captured.
The knowledge generated will now be used to draft the final constitution. Each workshop delegate will present this document to the constitutional convention in Buenos Aires December 4-6.
At the convention, delegates will debate and vote on the proposed constitution, solidifying the foundational principles guiding Cardano's development and its commitment to decentralization and community-driven governance.
The successful completion of these workshops demonstrates the power of collective decision-making within the Cardano community and paves the way for a decentralized and sustainable future.
Community hubs
As mentioned above, our LATAM and North American community hubs, led by AWEN, were busy running their Annual Members' Meetings last week. Our Africa hub, led by WADA, also held an X space last week, which you can listen to here and at their weekly town hall. Watch the town hall recording here (passcode: ?h05@xyz).
This week, we have the following activities taking place in our hubs:
Japan hub
X space held on October 25 with 44 attendees.
Africa hub, led by WADA
The Town Hall was held on October 24. The recording can be watched here (passcode: &$iEN2i6).
Sri Lanka hub, led by CoinCeylon
Monthly Town Hall to be held on October 26 at 15:00 UTC. You can join the Town Hall here.
Community grants
We are delighted to announce that Clarity has been awarded the grant to build the Voting Tool for the Constitutional Convention in Buenos Aires. This tool has two purposes. First, it facilitates a poll to approve the Constitution. Second, we want this to be a celebratory occasion for the Cardano community as a whole, and we want the experience to reflect this by being an on-chain voting tool and creating a spectacle.
This week saw yet another release of GovTool, with key updates detailed in the release notes. You can also track the community backlog here. The key change is that the protocol parameters update governance action and correctly display all introduced changes. It's a crucial step on the path towards full governance.
As we shared last week, the governance action outcome grant is closed. The winner, LidoNation, was chosen after careful consideration, which involved all the existing builders: Byron, We Deliver, DQuadrant, and Bloxico. LidoNation will be onboarded and will start development in the next couple of days.
Cardano GovTool is in its bootstrapping phase, with a second hard fork planned in the coming weeks to enable full governance. All teams are working to ensure this transition supports full governance while maintaining system stability. Updates can be followed on SanchoNet and in thecore-gov-tool-announcement Discord channel.
The CC-Portal is undergoing several enhancements, improving navigation and overall user experience. We are expecting the first of the few releases early next week.
This portal aims to offer easy access to the interim Cardano constitution and provide constitutional committee members with a streamlined interface for creating metadata as part of their on-chain voting rationale. Additionally, it serves as a platform for the Cardano community to understand committee members' voting actions better.
These improvements will make it easier for the constitutional committee and the wider Cardano community to engage with governance actions. The updates are expected to elevate both usability and transparency for all users.
Governance tools working group
The governance tools working group held another meeting this week, focusing on community backlog assessment and how we can incentivize its work and make it more transparent and compelling to the community and the whole ecosystem. You can track the community backlog here.
The working group continues to invite community members to participate in discussions and feature development for the Cardano GovTool. All feedback is welcome (see guide on feedback), and ongoing conversations are held in thewg-governance-tools Discord channel, where new feature ideas are regularly triaged and implemented.
Governance in numbers
As we press ahead following Chang upgrade #1, follow the progress of governance actions on-chain here every week. Since last Friday, October 18, 2024:
We've advanced from epoch 516 to epoch 517
Unique delegators increased by 2,712 (11,123 -> 13,835)
Total number of vote delegations increased by 2,902 (12,158 -> 15,060)
Total DRep votes increased by 60 (311 -> 371)
Total number of DRep registrations increased by 32 (571 -> 603)
DReps who have attached metadata increased by 11 (290 -> 301)
To learn how to start using Cardano GovTool, explore GovTool documentation. Here, you'll find everything from step-by-step guides to detailed explanations of its features.
On the Intersect Discord server, you can connect to the core maintainers of governance tools via the new request and new help & support channels under Core Governance Tools in Discord.
Delivery assurance
The delivery assurance team at Intersect ensures that projects undertaking Cardano core protocol development and maintenance work stay on track and meet high standards, ensuring we deliver on time and with quality. Working closely with the Technical Steering Committee, our team identifies risks early and helps solve them to keep Cardano's development strong and aligned with the community’s goals.
This week, you will find our latest Q3 newsletter on the knowledge base. This quarterly newsletter covers all the core development work completed on core Cardano.
Here are the latest stats from the Delivery assurance team:
Upcoming Intersect town hall and after-town hall event
Intersect Town Halls are co-creations in which you can participate and contribute asynchronously. Intersect Town Hall Event happens every 4th week of a month at 16:00 UTC - Registration: https://bit.ly/46nPeKJ
During the first two weeks of the month, we will have open town hall planning working group sessions on Thursdays at 4:00 pm UTC. Intersect town hall working group registration: https://bit.ly/3W4tb8q
Planning workgroup sessions allows you to shape the town hall to fit your needs. They are open to all—you don’t need to be part of any other working group to attend. We’d love to see more people join the sessions!
Important member resources
Intersect Knowledge Base - Frequently updated, our knowledge base provides granular detail on our internal governance structure, committees & working groups, and funding opportunities, among many other items.
Support - Please always use your Membership email address and contact Intersect for Support with any application errors, login issues, or questions without answers.
GovTool - Take part in testing governance actions on the SanchoNet testnet.
Discord / Telegram - Join our lively community and interact with committees, working groups, and other members.
Social - We are continually active on Twitter and LinkedIn, so follow us there to stay updated on our latest news and insights!
Town Hall - For those of you who missed August's town hall, the recording covers what was discussed.
Well, that’s it for this week's update. Thanks for reading!
And finally, we’re interested in hearing more from you about subjects important to you, such as Cardano’s governance. Your ideas and suggestions are crucial to us. If you have any questions, ideas, or suggestions, please get in touch via email, X, or LinkedIn.
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