Cardano Founder Comes Up With Creative Hard Fork Name

Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson suggests a creative name, Tasseled Wobblegong, for the blockchain’s upcoming hard fork, highlighting the community’s involvement and creativity.

Points

• Charles Hoskinson proposes “Tasseled Wobblegong” as the name for the new Cardano hard fork.
• The name is inspired by a species of carpet shark known for its ambush predation.
• The Cardano community plays a role in naming hard forks, reflecting creativity and engagement.

For those struggling to keep up with the names of various Cardano hard forks, Charles Hoskinson, the founder of the popular proof-of-stake blockchain, has come up with a new suggestion: Tasseled Wobblegong. “Now that the community is naming hard forks, I guess we are free to be as creative as possible,” Hoskinson said.

The Tasseled Wobblegong is a species of carpet shark that inhabits coral reefs. These sharks are particularly known as supreme ambush predators that just lie on the bottom and wait for prey to come by.

The term “hard fork” refers to a radical change to a certain blockchain protocol that is not supposed to be backward-compatible. For instance, Bitcoin, the leading cryptocurrency, underwent a major split in 2017, which resulted in the appearance of the Bitcoin Cash hard fork.

Cardano used the hard fork combinator （HFC） tool for smoothly combining protocols after a hard fork event. For instance, when Cardano introduced proof-of-stake with the “Shelley” hard fork back in 2020, the chain still contained blocks from the old Byron network. The tool makes it possible to avoid radical adjustments after hard fork events.

After Shelley, Cardano implemented the Mary hard fork in 2021, bringing DeFi functionality. During the same year, the Alonzo hard fork made it possible to develop smart contracts on the network.

Now, Cardano is on the cusp of the Chang hard fork that will bring decentralized on-chain governance, making it possible for ADA holders to vote on different matters （either individually or through delegate representatives）.

Tim Harrison of Input Output recently stated that momentum “continues to build” toward the introduction of the much-hyped Chang upgrade. In the pre-production stage of the upgrade, stake pool operators, exchanges, as well as decentralized applications, will have to upgrade to Node 9.0, which was released by the blockchain’s development team last month. So far, roughly a fourth of SPOs have upgraded to Node 9.0.

解説

• Hard Forks: Hard forks represent significant changes to a blockchain’s protocol, often leading to the creation of a new blockchain. These changes are not backward-compatible, meaning old nodes cannot process transactions on the new chain.
• Community Involvement: Allowing the community to participate in naming hard forks reflects Cardano’s commitment to decentralization and community engagement. It fosters a sense of ownership and involvement among users.
• Technological Advancements: The use of the hard fork combinator （HFC） tool showcases Cardano’s innovative approach to protocol upgrades. This tool ensures smooth transitions during hard forks, maintaining network stability and functionality.