IOHK, the team behind Cardano, submitted an upgrade proposal to the Cardano testnet on August 27. The Alonzo upgrade is the final stage before <a href="https://www.cryptoknowmics.com/news/cardano-network-finally-unveils-launch-date-for-smart-contracts/">smart contracts</a> are deployed to the Cardano mainnet.

[embed]https://twitter.com/InputOutputHK/status/1431286232278085634[/embed]

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<h2>Cardano Nears Smart Contracts as Alonzo Upgrade Enters Final Stage</h2>
On Friday, Cardano developers submitted a proposal to hard fork the blockchain into the “Alonzo era.” The submission marked a milestone for the network and the last step before smart contracts become available. 

“This is a major milestone and marks the final, critical stage prior to hard forking the Cardano mainnet, on target for 12 September,” IOHK wrote on Twitter.

In the days ahead, Cardano will perform final checks and tests on the Alonzo upgrade in a controlled environment. All the components associated with the upcoming change will have to work for a determined period before they’re eventually shipped for implementation. This process has been dubbed as the “final dress rehearsal” by IOHK’s delivery lead Dimitris Poulopoulos.

“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.”

As per Cardano’s roadmap, the network is currently in the final stages of the Shelley era. This particular phase introduced many new features to the blockchain, including a proof-of-stake protocol known as Ouroboros. Shelly will be followed by the Goguen era -- named after renowned computer scientist Joseph Goguen -- that will bring decentralized applications (DApps) to the ADA ecosystem.
<h2>Charles Hoskinson Calls Upgrade Proposal Final Test Before the Big Show</h2>
In a brief <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KbFBKO6zm8k" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">update</a> on YouTube yesterday, Cardano founder <a href="https://www.cryptoknowmics.com/news/charles-hoskinson-slams-mike-novogratz-for-dismissing-cardano-ada/">Charles Hoskinson</a> thanked the network’s community and confirmed that his team has greenlit Alonzo’s final stage. 

“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 […].”

Meanwhile, ADA is continuing its impressive streak from the last few days and currently trading at $2.83. The token’s next major resistance lies at $3, a level that analysts believe it will surpass owing to a classic technical pattern -- called bull flag -- that signals bullish activity.

IOHK Submits Alonzo Upgrade Proposal to Cardano Testnet

IOHK, the team behind Cardano, has submitted an upgrade proposal to hard fork the blockchain into the Alonzo era on August 27.

Divya is a postgraduate from Jawaharlal Nehru University specializing in International Relations and a professional writer with more than 5 years of experience writing for the web. She is an avid reader interested in the global financial system and the effects of decentralization. At Cryptoknowmics, she hopes to deliver clear and understandable content to inform readers about the latest events in the crypto sector.

IOHK Submits Alonzo Upgrade Proposal to Cardano Testnet

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