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Cardano Completes Plomin Hard Fork, Ushering in Full On-Chain Governance

A significant success has been achieved by Cardano with the Plomin Hard Fork’s execution. This marks the official and seamless transition to full and complete on-chain governance and task execution in the community that controls the blockchain. Cardano’s success with its governance model further reinforces a commitment to decentralization, resilience, and, of course, security. JUST IN: Cardano successfully executed the Plomin Hard Fork, introducing full on-chain governance. https://t.co/BxKz2tZujk — Cardano Hieronymus (@CardanoHumpback) January 29, 2025 The network has been managed by more than 1,100 block-producing pools for several years, ensuring its stability and security. The pools and the broader Cardano community now exercise full on-chain governance over the platform. That means these nearly 1,200 delegators, and the additional 100+ million ADA staked to them, control the platform’s protocol upgrades and the allocation of its $1.5 billion treasury. Cardano will have its Plomin hardfork in about 9 hours. DReps will activate, as a new era of self-governance begins The community, which has controlled the network for years with 1100+ block producing pools, today also assumes full control over protocol and $1.5bn treasury https://t.co/7B14roNRYm — whale (@cardano_whale) January 29, 2025 Empowering ADA Holders with Governance Control This upgrade gives ADA holders many new avenues to partake in Cardano’s governance structure. Delegation and representative voting now make it possible for the community to stay at the helm when it comes to making key decisions about network changes, treasury management, and protocol upgrades. 1. Voting Delegation to Stake Pool Operators – Cardano’s stake pool operators (SPOs), who have long secured the network and maintained it, will now have the power to decide on-chain upgrades and protocol parameter changes. ADA holders can delegate their governance power to these operators and let them make key decisions about the network’s future. 2. Votes are Delegated to dReps (Delegated Representatives) – dReps are registered ADA holders who actively govern Cardano by representing the broader community in decision-making processes. They cast votes on proposals, oversee treasury management, and otherwise ensure the platform moves in a user-beneficial direction. In short: If you’re an ADA holder and don’t want to directly participate in governance, you can delegate your voting to a dRep. He or she will ensure your interests are represented. 3. The process of becoming a dRep – Any holder of ADA can participate in Cardano’s governance structure by registering as a dRep. With merely 500 ADA, one can apply for this position and, if you can believe it, actually campaign to become a “delegate representative.” What a governance structure! Withsuch an incredibly low barrier to entry, governance becomes much more accessible and thesepOS much more open to dissenting views. Cardano’s Plomin Hardfork is ready for launch! Today, at the epoch’s end, Cardano is rolling out groundbreaking upgrades never before seen in the blockchain industry! The highlight? A new stake-based voting system that puts $ADA holders in charge of shaping the future of the… pic.twitter.com/KDXFPinvx2 — AdaLink | Frenchies (@AdaLink_io) January 29, 2025 Moving to complete on-chain governance coincides with the Voltaire era, which focuses on decentralized decision-making and self-sustainability. Voltaire allows the Cardano community to take what could be metaphorically said to be “the wheel.” ADA holders control the governance mechanisms and treasury allocations, so if you are an ADA holder, you control the changes made to the Cardano protocol. Market Reaction: Whales Remain Cautious This momentous occurrence has occurred; however, on-chain data propose that ADA’s large holders have not seen the results in their portfolios break even. These investors appear to have offloaded almost 200 million ADA since Martin Luther King, Jr. week, which might seem alarming at first. Yet, the ADA market hasn’t seen a bloodbath; rather, it has been somewhat stable. “ADA whales” don’t appear to be panickers. Thus, what ADA whales have been doing of late might just be allowing some elbow room for the elusive recovery of ADA back to the $0.30 to $0.33 range that prevailed before the bottom fell out in mid-November 2022. Whales have remained relatively flat after offloading over 180 million #Cardano $ADA between Jan. 19 and Jan. 23! pic.twitter.com/9BbktJvCwe — Ali (@ali_charts) January 29, 2025 This trend presents some intriguing market-sentiment questions. For blockchain networks, decentralization is a central value proposition. But major investors often need to gauge the changes’ economic and structural implications before they feel comfortable investing. If Cardano’s governance ends up being efficient and effective, that could end up attracting way more institutional interest in ADA than there is today. A Defining Moment for Cardano By fully implementing on-chain governance, Cardano demonstrates how decentralized and resilient a blockchain network can be. Why? Because ADA holders can directly affect protocol-level decisions. When they do so, you can be certain that the changes they’ve instantiated are in the best interest of the ADA holder as a user of the network. Voltaire stands as a pivotal point in the Cardano timeline, demonstrating not only the ability to govern a blockchain network but also the means to transform such networks into fully community-driven ecosystems. The more ADA holders we have participating in governance today, the stronger the network becomes at innovating, adapting, and serving as a precedent for other decentralized projects in the space. The market response is still tepid, but this upgrade could have a meaningful long-term impact. Cardano has not just moved to decentralized governance; it has done so in a cogent way, with a model that other platforms might reasonably look to as they also steer toward decentralized, community-based governance. For holders of ADA, this shift is a clear invitation to be more active in the design and management of the network, assuring that it morphs toward what might be considered reasonable and sustainable forms in the future. Disclosure: This is not trading or investment advice. Always do your research before buying any cryptocurrency or investing in any services. Follow us on Twitter @nulltxnews to stay updated with the latest Crypto, NFT, AI, Cybersecurity, Distributed Computing, and Metaverse news ! Image Source: Photo by Traxer on Unsplash // Image Effects by Colorcinch AMB Crypto

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Litecoin Shows Strong User Engagement and Growing Institutional Interest

Litecoin (LTC), one of the first and most established cryptocurrencies, keeps standing out in the dense crowd of Layer 1 blockchains. With strong on-chain metrics, Litecoin has started to show that it’s still a key player in the crypto space, adding up user engagement and network strength at a rate that’s outpacing quite a few of its supposed competitors. As the crypto market evolves, Litecoin looks strongly positioned for continued success, with a base of its support that keeps getting more “grassroots,” an effect that’s really starting to see some dividends. User Engagement Surpasses Major Competitors Litecoin’s active user base is one of its most impressive statistics. With more than 8.1 million total addresses and an average of over 350,000 daily active addresses, Litecoin has a stunningly engaged community that seems to surpass its Layer 1 competitors, with the possible recent exception of ADA. This high level of user interaction is a clear sign of the network’s health and the consistent interest Litecoin commands among both retail and institutional investors. Litecoin’s active user base consists not just of numbers but of a community that is both strong and committed. Over 50% of all LTC in circulation is held in retail wallets, which indicates that Litecoin is not just an obscure cryptocurrency but one that individual investors are actually using. Much more than with some other cryptocurrencies, “retail” in this context means “everyday” and not just “small-scale” investors. Whale Activity Signals Growing Institutional Interest Although Litecoin has a solid retail base, it also attracts many large investors. The last few months have seen Litecoin’s “whale” holdings increase by 1.75 million LTC since December 2024. This number serves to underscore the uptick in possibly burgeoning institutional interest in Litecoin, which larger investors see as an asset that has the potential to offer both security and significant long-term value appreciation. Increased whale activity doesn’t just happen for no apparent reason; it often presages greater institutional involvement. And with increased whale activity, Litecoin is looking to many in the know like a possible player for larger, institutional crypto diversification strategies. Retail engagement combined with institutional interest places Litecoin in a distinctive market position. Although many cryptocurrencies find it challenging to have both retail and institutional support, Litecoin appears to be an all-around favorite, coming through with both segments of the market. For those who prefer the term “recession-resistant,” Litecoin delivers that, too. Holders Show Patience: A Long-Term Investment Mindset The ecosystem of Litecoin has another remarkable aspect: the patience of its holders. On average, LTC holders retain their coins for 2.5 years. While this is not as long as Bitcoin is held on average, it again places Litecoin among the longest-held cryptos. The very fact that Litecoin holders are willing to retain their asset for an average of 2.5 years suggests a long-term mindset. And that, in turn, is what leads to the kind of stability and value retention that Litecoin enjoys. Maintaining assets over the long term is key—especially in the extremely volatile crypto markets. When you really think about it, holding through the ups and downs of any market takes a kind of faith. And while our human nature may lead us to invest with guile and a hope for quick gains, in the case of faith-based investing, we might be better off thinking with our hearts rather than our heads—and also with Litecoin’s hold rate in mind. Hashrate Growth Indicates Increasing Network Strength At last, the hashrate of Litecoin, which evaluates the computational strength committed to the network, has increased by more than 20% since early 2025. A climbing hashrate directly links with better security for Proof of Work (PoW) blockchains such as Litecoin. The rising hashrate indicates that the Litecoin network is more secure and attack-resistant, giving users and investors much greater assurance. This increase in hashrate signals something positive for Litecoin’s future. A stronger ecosystem attracts more users and positions Litecoin something more than a “playground for crypto nerds.” To the eyes of at least one analyst, a secure network makes for a more reliable investment option. To sum it all up, Litecoin’s on-chain indicators show a multi-dimensional flourishing of its blockchain. With what can only be described as a strong user base of an almost fanatical nature, an apparent surge in institutional interest, long-term holders who comport themselves in a very investment-minded fashion, and a network that seems to be acquiring more security, it appears that Litecoin is poised for some continuity of growth and success in the “next years” that the report mentions. The “maturing” crypto market seems to be rubbing off on Litecoin by making it a more stable entity with some rising key metrics. Disclosure: This is not trading or investment advice. Always do your research before buying any cryptocurrency or investing in any services. Follow us on Twitter @nulltxnews to stay updated with the latest Crypto, NFT, AI, Cybersecurity, Distributed Computing, and Metaverse news ! Image Source: pitinan/ 123RF // Image Effects by Colorcinch AMB Crypto