Cardano CEO Says Hard Fork Likely In February 2020

• Charles Hoskinson co-founded IOHK and is its CEO.
• IOHK is the blockchain firm that backs Cardano (ADA).
• Cardano is, in turn, one of the most beloved crypto firms around, boasting an impressive fan base and a reputation for being forward-leaning.
• According to Mr. Hoskinson, Cardano is likely to undergo a hard fork in the middle of February 2020.

This statement was made during a live stream that occurred on January 17. During the said live stream, Mr. Hoskinson who was in Colorado at that time stated that Cardano’s consensus algorithm would undergo an upgrade via a hard fork in February. He also expressed confidence that the Ouroboros Bizantine Fault-Tolerant Consensus Protocol (OBFT) would be implemented at around the same time.

He said:

“Looks like February - at pretty high certainty- we’re going to have the OBFT hard fork occur. We’re still talking to our exchange partners about that and we just want to make sure all the infrastructure is lined up for it, but infrastructure looks pretty good, so mid-February we anticipate an OBFT hard fork.”

Revelations during the live stream did not all center on Cardano and its approaching hard fork, with Hoskinson stating that the long-awaited Ledger hardware wallet integration with the Daedalus Cardano wallet software was about ready to be deployed. The deployment would very likely prove significant and beneficial to users.

Cardano On The Up

The presumed hard fork is not the only big news about Cardano to be aired recently. There's also recent and significant news about Emurgo, which acts as the venture arm of Cardano in its new partnership with the Uzbekistan government. The partnership is to create a blockchain task force tasked with developing and implementing regulations that would govern exchanges (STXs), as well as security token offerings (STOs) in Uzbekistan.

Emurgo and the KOBEA Group would also “advise on infrastructure for digital asset banking & exchange, and blockchain education units” in the Republic of Uzbekistan. Uzbekistan is a little known Central Asian country that has a population slightly in excess of 30 million.

January 2020 saw the launch of a Cardano test network that helped prove Cardano is a massive force to be reckoned with. In just 24 hours of the launch, ADA holders staked more than 5 billion coins, whose worth was around $195 million as of that particular time. This proved significant holder interest and participation in network activities.

Hard Fork and Sweet Times

While the common assumption among crypto enthusiasts is that a hard fork means that the gravy train is about to come to town, and they might be able to get their hands on some newly-forked coins, that does not happen always. And so, crypto lovers would do well to keep their expectations in check when the Cardano hard fork does occur.

Part of the updates Hoskinson communicated to listeners was that the various Cardano teams would work more effectively with each other and cut out waste. This will undoubtedly help the Cardano project keep on steaming at full speed, which is no mean feat.

ADA Toes The Bullish Path

ADA has had a bullish run so far this year and news like this is what keeps it galloping ahead with confidence. As of now, ADA is one of the best performing crypto assets this year and has boosted its annual gains by a convincing 6.4%.