Cardano: Alonzo Enters Final Stage, Smart Contracts On The Horizon

Cardano moves at full speed towards its final hard fork combinator (HFC) event Alonzo to implement full smart contract capabilities. The community has been keeping a close eye on the latest developments, as AlonzoPurple enters its final test stage.

Input-Output Global, the company behind this blockchain and its development, recently disclosed that they submitted an upgrade proposal. This will allow the Cardano testnet to hard fork “into the Alonzo era”.

❗🍴 Today, we have just submitted an upgrade proposal to the #Cardano testnet to hardfork the chain into the #Alonzo era and enable smart contract capability. This will take effect within the next few hours. 1/5@CardanoStiftung @Cardano

— Input Output (@InputOutputHK) August 27, 2021

The process has been put into effect and should be completed within the day, IOG claimed. The company referred to this final test stage for HFC Alonzo as a “major milestone”.

In addition, IOG said that Cardano has entered a “critical stage” that will take place before the mainnet is forked to implement Plutus, its native smart contract platform. The company confirmed that the final stage for the HFC event Alonzo will be rollout out on September 12th, 2021.

Over the days ahead, we’ll be doing final checks and testing within a controlled environment to ensure that we are ready to upgrade the main #Cardano network. And usher in a transformative era of smart contracts capability.

Dimitris Poulopoulos, IOG’s delivery lead, called the new stage the “final dress rehearsal”. All the components and the smart contract platform need to work for a determined period of time before full implementation.

During this time, developers will identify and fix issues before mainnet deployment. In addition, the team will “confirm” the stability of the network and its other elements.

Most importantly, crypto exchange platforms have been testing their configurations, reporting, and tracking down bugs and issues. Thus, when the HFC launches, these platforms can operate without problems.

The company thanked stake pool operators (SPO), pioneers, and other partners for their “incredibly hard work” and celebrated that they are “nearly there now”. The HFC Alonzo is probably one of the most awaited Cardano updates.

Charles Hoskinson, the creator of Cardano and IOG CEO, also thanked the community in a recently posted video on his YouTube channel. Hoskinson confirmed that after reviewing the infrastructure, and the state of the testnet, the team decided to greenlight the final test stage.

He further explained that, unlike previous occasions, Alonzo has entered the “primary testnet used for exchanges and all the other people”. Once the HFC infrastructure “rolls over”, it will stay on the testnet until the “update proposals are done” on September 9th, before its launch on the 12th. Hoskinson added:

It’s going to be probably a rather uneventful rollover, knock on wood. Looks like that, we are pretty happy about it. Everything is on schedule for the 12th. Big milestone today on the go/no-go decision (…). Thank you to the countless hundreds of people who helped us beta test this and push really hard (…).

At the time of writing, ADA trades at $2,85 with a 12.8% profit in the daily chart. The cryptocurrency sits at the 3rd position in the top 10 by market cap, right below Ethereum, and Bitcoin.

ADA has been positively reacting to the updates on the platform’s smart contract capabilities and seems poised to continue breaking all-resistance levels. In the past day, it made one of the strongest comebacks after the market saw some selling pressure. $3 stands as the next major objective.