Why Cardano’s On-Chain Poll Experiment is Important for Decentralization

• Cardano is preparing to deploy its final update. 
• The update will reshape Cardano into a government by introducing a voting and treasury system. 
• Currently, the Cardano Foundation is testing the voting mechanism on-chain. 

Cardano is gearing up to roll out its highly-anticipated final development stage, Voltaire. The update aims to provide the final pieces required for the Proof-of-Stake chain to achieve a self-sustaining network as envisioned by its founder, Charles Hoskinson. 

It has the potential to transform Cardano into a uniquely decentralized network, setting it apart from its competitors. As the new update approaches, Cardano’s development team is actively testing crucial elements that offer a glimpse into the future of a truly decentralized network. 

With these experiments, Cardano is paving the way for a more inclusive and democratic decision-making process. Voltaire is a significant milestone in Cardano’s evolution and marks an exciting chapter for the platform’s growth and decentralization. 

What is the Voltaire Update? 

Voltaire is the final stage in Cardano’s roadmap. The update aims to turn Cardano into a fully functioning government by introducing a voting and treasury system. Through Voltaire, any user can present Cardano improvement proposals that stakeholders can vote on by leveraging the staking and delegation process. 

Once the Voltaire update is set in stone, Cardano will be truly decentralized and no longer under IOHK’s management. The network will be controlled by the community, which will be able to propose seven different governance actions, including: 

• A motion of no-confidence
• New constitutional committee and quorum 
• Updates to the constitution
• Hard-Fork 
• Protocol parameter 
• Treasury

The Cardano Foundation is currently conducting the network’s first on-chain governance poll test. 

What is the On-Chain Governance Poll, and Why is it Important? 

The on-chain governance poll is a voting process that Cardano users can participate in to push for a change by staking their tokens. The ongoing poll experiment is crucial for future governance events because it sets a precedent for what Cardano could become once it is truly decentralized and no longer under IOHK. 

As a test, Cardano Foundation has pushed a proposal on-chain to change two of the most critical parameters in the ecosystem: The k parameter, which defines the optimal number of stake pools on the network, and the minPool cost, which determines how much ADA per Epoch a pool can take as a minimum fee. 

Both parameters are crucial for the network’s decentralization. If users vote on increasing the k-parameter, it would theoretically increase decentralization because it encourages more pools to participate. However, increasing the k-parameter would also lead to making less ADA in revenue for larger pools. 

On the other hand, if users vote on decreasing the minPool cost, it would reduce the minimum ADA fee a pool can make, allowing smaller pools to gain a competitive edge against larger pools. 

How to Vote? 

The on-chain governance poll encompasses three parts. First, the Cardano Foundation posts a proposal to the network based on one of the seven governance actions mentioned earlier. 

Once the proposal is live on the network, participants have a two-epoch period of up to ten days to cast their votes based on their preference. Following the voting phase, there is an additional two-epoch period during which users delegate votes to pools. Finally, Cardano Foundation will publish a comprehensive report and implement the approved changes.