Intersect weekly update #125 Aug 21, 2026
Welcome to Intersect update #125
Preparations for the Dijkstra era continue, with scope, readiness and release quality firmly in focus. Governance participation is especially important as the Update Constitutional Committee action approaches its September 1 deadline, while members can now begin preparing for Intersect’s upcoming Board elections.
We also share progress from the Civics and Product Committees, improvements to the Member Area and Virtual Hub, and new opportunities to connect through Intersect Connect, the Monthly Members Meeting and the DRep community call.
Contributors: Bosko M, Larisa M, Abhik N, Simo S, Lorenzo B, Intersect
Latest on Cardano upgrades
Dijkstra planning continues against the agreed scope and timeline, with current work focused on documenting the impact of each included CIP, defining the necessary protocol parameter and constitutional changes, and expanding ecosystem readiness activities. The Haskell node teams remain committed to achieving enactment in 2026, although the timeline carries risk around the availability of a node release candidate. Stability and release quality remain the priority.
The initial Dijkstra readiness tracker is now in place and will be expanded with more detailed criteria and ecosystem reporting.
Current voter participation in the active Update Constitutional Committee governance action was highlighted as a potential dependency. With this action due to expire on September 1, failure to ratify and enact it could interrupt Cardano’s governance continuity and consequently affect the Dijkstra timeline. SPOs & DReps are strongly encouraged to review the action and cast their vote. Read further details on this action below in the Governance section.
Reduce minPoolCost to 75 ada and increase Plutus Memory Limits (Pt 2)
This parameter update governance action (currently on-chain) brings together two previously recommended changes.
While these are two distinct changes, both have been independently considered and recommended through the established technical governance process. The remaining memory-limit adjustment completes the staged increase previously considered by the ecosystem and is relatively small in scope. Including it alongside the minPoolCost change avoids asking SPOs and DReps to participate in two separate voting cycles for actions requiring the same voter groups.
Bundling the changes does not alter the governance thresholds or the need for scrutiny but, worth noting, that it enables SPOs to vote on minPoolCost, which is not normally available to them. The supporting rationale for both elements is available to voters, and both should be considered when deciding how to vote.
The minPoolCost reduction is intended to ease the fixed-cost burden on smaller stake pools, while the memory-limit adjustment completes the previously agreed increase in capacity available to Plutus scripts.
Because the action includes parameters within the Network group, approval is required from both DReps, 67%, and stake pool operators, 51% of active voting stake to pass.
SPOs are not required to vote on every type of governance action, but participation is essential for this one. We encourage all SPOs and DReps to review the proposal and its supporting rationale, consider both changes and cast an informed Yes, No or Abstain vote.
Constitutional Committee Term updates - Update Committee Action participation CTA
As mentioned in the previous section, the Update Constitutional Committee 2026 action is currently live on chain for voting by SPOs and Reps and expires on 1 September (Epoch 653). If the action isn’t ratified before the current members’ terms expire, the committee cannot renew as planned. This could interrupt Cardano’s governance continuity, affecting governance actions, and introducing delays that may affect progress towards the Dijkstra hard fork, making participation this week particularly important.
DRep support currently sits at 37% against the 67% threshold, and SPO support at 7.9% against the required 51% to pass. SPOs can find useful documentation for casting votes on the Cardano Developer Portal. Now is also a great time to vote as there are two on-chain actions requiring SPO votes, which can be voted on at the same time, reducing the number of times that SPOs have to interact with their cold keys.
Civics Committee updates
The Civics Committee opened a vote on the Phase 2 deliverables from the Constitutional Amendment Process Working Group. Approval would mark the formal process of moving into its next stage. They also discussed the future direction of the Governance Incentives Working Group and agreed the working group charter will be discussed further at next week’s meeting before returning to the committee for approval.
Members also reviewed the governance elements of the Cardano 2030 KPI framework. Discussion explored how the Civics Committee could help champion a clearer governance roadmap and improve visibility of progress against measures such as DRep participation and the distribution of voting power. The committee will now develop its feedback and consider what an appropriate coordination and reporting role could look like.
The Constitutional Amendment Portal remains open for alpha testing, and we would love your help. Trying the portal and sharing feedback now will help ensure the process and supporting tools are ready when they are needed.
Get started: head to cap.intersectmbo.org
Live governance actions*
|
Proposal |
Expires |
DRep |
CC (🟢-🔴-⚪️-⏳) |
|
Name the Protocol Version 12 hard fork “von Bergen“ (Info Action) |
Aug 22, 2026 (Epoch 651) |
DRep 59.3% SPO** 8.27% |
0-3-1-3 |
|
Reduce minPoolCost to 75 ada and increase Plutus Memory Limits (Part 2) (Parameter Update) |
Sep 1, 2026 (Epoch 653) |
DRep 43% / 67% SPO 15.7% / 51% |
2-0-0-5 |
|
Update Constitutional Committee 2026 (Update Committee) |
Sep 1, 2026 (Epoch 653) |
DRep 37.9%/ 67% SPO 7.93% / 51% |
N/A |
|
Governance Incentives Framework 2026 (Treasury withdrawal) |
Sep 16, 2026 (Epoch 656) |
DRep 0.49 / 67% |
0-1-0-6 |
|
Reimburse Ikigai Info Governance Action Deposit. (Treasury withdrawal) |
Sep 16, 2026 (Epoch 656) |
DRep 20% / 67% |
1-0-0-6 |
*data from Aug 21 20:00 UTC
** SPO votes not always counted in the outcome but the ledger allows SPOs to vote on all Info Actions
Follow vote progress with your favorite Cardano explorers:
GovTool | Tempo | Cexplorer | AdaStat | CardanoScan | CGov | Civitas
Connecting with the community
Participation runs through this week’s update, from SPOs and DReps helping maintain governance continuity, to members preparing for the Board elections, testing new constitutional tooling and contributing through committees and working groups.
Over the coming weeks, Intersect is creating more regular opportunities for people across the ecosystem to stay informed and take part. These include the new weekly Intersect Connect X Spaces, Monthly Members Meetings, the DRep community call and conversations in the Intersect Virtual Hub. Whether you participate on-chain, through an Intersect committee or by joining an open community discussion, there are several ways to contribute and be part of what comes next.
Intersect Board Elections 2026
This September, members again help choose who steers Intersect. Our Board has seven seats, four of them elected by members, and this year two are up for election as Adam Rusch and Kavinda Kariyapperuma reach the end of their two year terms. which keeps continuity while regularly opening opportunities to bring in new voices.
Serving on the Board is a genuine way to give back to Cardano. Directors carry the membership's perspective into the room, but the role asks for more than representation. Each director exercises independent judgment in the best interests of Intersect and its mission, taking shared responsibility for strategy, governance, financial sustainability and risk oversight. If you are weighing it up, start with the role, responsibilities and expectations page.
Thinking of standing? In short, you will need at least 180 days of membership, to be in good standing, completed KYC, at least one prior term on an Intersect Committee or the Board, and a willingness to provide your legal name and address for Intersect's Wyoming filings if elected. Applications open on 31 August, and you can preview the application form now, (including translated versions), to prepare.
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Planning to vote? Individual and Enterprise members with at least 180 days of membership, in good standing and with completed KYC, can take part.
Don't wait to complete your KYC. If you're thinking about standing for election or planning to vote, we strongly encourage you to complete your KYC now through the Member Area. Doing it early will help avoid any last-minute issues that could prevent you from participating.
Read more details in this announcement
Intersect Knowledgebase tip of the week: With Intersect 2026 Board Elections approaching, the Knowledge Base is the place to understand how the process works, who can stand, and how voting happens. Head there to get familiar before applications open.
Membership updates
In preparation for the upcoming Board elections we have released a number of improvements to our Intersect Member Area.
Among the most notable is a new self-service voting area, enabling Intersect committees to run voting events for key decisions. This is intended to support greater transparency, consistency and auditability across Intersect’s decision making processes.
We have also launched a new ‘all members’ page within the Membership area. Members and associates can now:
- find and connect with fellow members and associates
- identify Intersect staff and find their contact details
- view their own and other members’ participation badges
- see the roles members hold across committees and board
- manage their own public profile by keeping their avatar and bio updated.
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New Board election badges and NFTs have also been introduced.
Members can earn these by participating in the elections as either a candidate or voter, providing a lasting record of their contribution to Intersect’s member-led governance.
Intersect Member verification updates: Following member feedback collected during the last voting event we have further refined our member verification process. The verification now only requires user id, liveness check and mobile verification, removing address verification. The option to be verified via DiD, powered by our Intersect Member Socious, has been updated to match the standard KYC.
Behind the scenes, our engineering team migrated our website and Member Area onto more robust infrastructure. In plain terms it makes the platform more stable and scalable, while optimising resources.
Our partnership with ClayNation continues with ongoing improvements to the Intersect Virtual Hub. A new feature lets podium speakers present directly to the big screen, with support for video and slide decks, making live sessions richer for everyone taking part.
Our Virtual Hub is available 24/7 and offers members an innovative and fun platform to engage with people from every corner of the world in one room - if you would like to set up an event of your own in the hub please get in touch at members@intersectmbo.org
Committee & Working group news
Cardano Product Committee
The Cardano Product Committee Continues its Product Research effort. Seven Proposers have been awarded funds to research on the topics previously defined. This week Wada, Nextrium and TKNFRA have progressed through their first milestone, presenting progress in the Product Committee meeting. Milestone reports and findings will soon be public on the Product committee website.
Membership and Community Committee (MCC)
The MCC Working Group returns on Thursday, bringing together committee members and the wider community to collaborate on the Membership & Community Committee’s ongoing priorities and work streams. The session provides an open space to discuss current MCC initiatives, share ideas and feedback, and work together on actions that support membership and community engagement across Intersect. Everyone interested in contributing to the MCC’s work is encouraged to join the conversation.
Check the Intersect Discord Events tab for the meeting details and join link.
Monthly Members Meeting:
Next week, we’re back with the Intersect Monthly Members Meeting (MMM) on Wednesday, 26 August at 12:00 PM UTC. This month’s meeting will see updates from Intersect leadership and across Cardano, covering protocol and network development, governance and constitutional activity, delivery and treasury, committee activity, Board Elections, and more. We’ll also hear from our latest Enterprise Spotlight, before moving into Intersect Connect in the Virtual Hub, where members and the wider community can ask questions, share feedback, and join the conversation.
26 August 2026 | 12:00 PM UTC, Watch live on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rhEtd-VD0Sk
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This week, we're spotlighting Intersect Enterprise Member Anastasia Labs.
Anastasia Labs describes itself as a blockchain development company focused on smart contract development, security, and infrastructure within the Cardano ecosystem. Their work includes smart contract security audits, smart contract development, protocol design, technical consulting, and off-chain transaction infrastructure, with experience across Cardano development technologies including Haskell, Plinth, Aiken, Plutarch, and Helios.
The team also contributes to open-source development across the Cardano ecosystem. Its publicly highlighted projects and contributions include Midgard, an optimistic rollup Layer 2 solution designed for Cardano, Lucid Evolution, a transaction-building and off-chain framework, as well as open-source production-ready dApps and smart contract pattern libraries.
Anastasia Labs also highlights education and developer knowledge-sharing as part of its work, including participation in discussions around dApp security practices and design patterns.
As part of our Enterprise Member Spotlight series, we're pleased to introduce Anastasia Labs to the wider Intersect community and provide an opportunity for members to learn more about their work and contributions across the Cardano ecosystem.
More on Anastasia Labs: https://www.anastasialabs.com/
Enterprise Member Spotlights are intended to showcase the work and activities of Intersect members. Information about products, services, and activities is provided by, or based on information published by, the featured member and does not constitute an endorsement by Intersect.
What’s coming up?
Intersect Connect X Spaces: A series of regular spaces kick off on Tuesday 25 August, with topics covering:
- Intersect Board election - Who can stand? Who can vote? as we head toward the application phase.
- CC Election - Update Committee Action
- Civics committee updates
Intersect Connect X Spaces will run at the same time each Tuesday, through the Board Election cycle, covering current topics.
Then, on Wednesday, we’re back with the Intersect Monthly Members Meeting (MMM) for updates from Intersect leadership and across Cardano.
Straight after that you can jump into Intersect Connect in the Virtual Hub, where members and the wider community hang out virtually, ask questions, share feedback, and join the conversation.
And, if you are a DRep, join the DRep monthly call, giving an opportunity for DReps to discuss current issues, support one another or ask questions, jointly hosted by Intersect and enterprise member, Tweag.
Join with the links below:
Intersect connect X Space: 25 Aug 2pm UTC - Join here on X
Monthly members meeting: 26 August 2026 | 12:00 PM UTC - Watch live on YouTube
DRep monthly call: Weds 26 August 15:00 UTC register and Join here on Luma
Intersect Public Google Calendar: Our public Google calendar -Take a look ahead of a new week.
Intersect Virtual Hub: The Intersect Virtual Hub is open 24/7 for members to use -ask Intersect staff for assistanceor see How to join the Virtual Hub guide on X.
Interested in future opportunities?
If you’re interested in helping shape the next chapter of Intersect, or know someone who could be a great fit, we’d love to hear from you. You can register your interest for:
- Graduate Technical Associate (Cardano Tech) - graduates who are passionate about blockchain technology and interested in future opportunities within Intersect's Cardano Tech team.
- Blockchain Security (Cardano Tech) - for those with experience in areas such as security operations, vulnerability management, security review and triage, technical risk assessment, delivery assurance, blockchain or distributed systems and smart contracts or protocol-adjacent environments.
Please note: These two roles are for an expression of interest only. Submitting details means you may be considered for future opportunities if and when relevant roles become available. It does not indicate nor imply that Intersect is currently hiring for a specific position.
Keep an eye on our careers page and channels for the full role details and application information!
That’s it for this week’s update. Thank you for reading. To learn more about Intersect’s work, explore the Knowledge Base, which provides detailed information on governance structures, committees, and funding.
Join the conversation on Discord, and follow us on Twitter (X) and LinkedIn to engage with fellow members, working groups, and the broader community. Subscribe to the public Google and Luma calendars.