EMURGO January 2025 Newsletter: First On-Chain Mint of Cardano Stablecoin USDA! + More Updates

EMURGO’s January 2025 newsletter features a monthly recap of product updates and announcements, press releases, education-related news, and more to facilitate the adoption of Cardano and Web3 products & services.

Kick off the year with these new and important developments in the EMURGO and Cardano ecosystems:

• Cardano stablecoin USDA is now on-chain!?(Wider access coming soon).
• New partnership with Agoric?to empower developers in building cross-chain interoperable applications.
• The Plomin hard fork has been successfully implemented on Cardano,?unlocking full on-chain governance features for the community.

January Highlights: EMURGO’s Top News & Achievements

USDA: First Mint On-Chain!

The first mint of?Anzens USDA, Cardano’s fully reserved native stablecoin, is officially live. This marks a foundational milestone in creating a Cardano-native stablecoin asset for the ecosystem.

While retail access isn’t available yet, the Anzens team is working tirelessly to make USDA accessible soon. Stay tuned for updates!

Partnership with Agoric to Build Cross-Chain Applications

EMURGO recently partnered with Agoric to welcome it into the Cardano ecosystem and help blockchain developers create cross-chain interoperable applications with greater ease.

Why Agoric??Their Orchestration technology enables:

• Multi-block execution and native asynchronous functionality.
• Seamless cross-chain flows for builders.
• Improved user retention and value creation.

With this partnership, we’re simplifying Web3 development for builders and users alike.

Read more about the partnership here.

Explainer: The Plomin Hard Fork

The Plomin hard fork (previously planned as the second upgrade of the Chang hard fork) has been successfully implemented on Cardano, fully unlocking decentralized on-chain governance features for the community including participation by DReps and all governance actions.

The?Plomin hard fork?is a critical Cardano upgrade introducing significant distributed governance features:

• It enables the full implementation of the decentralized governance model outlined in CIP-1694, moving out of the technical bootstrapping phase and completely into the Voltaire era.
• DReps?(Delegated Representatives) can vote on community governance actions including ratifying the Cardano constitution.

The upgrade required multiple approvals before deployment:

• SPOs (Stake Pool Operators)?must upgrade their nodes and approve it with at least 51% of votes.
• If nearly 60% of SPOs approve, the upgrade will move forward to the mainnet. So, if the SPOs vote against the upgrade, it will not proceed to be pushed to the main Cardano network.
• 5 out of 7 members of the Interm Constitutional Committee must vote in favor of the hard fork.
• Readiness from exchange liquidity, wallet support, dApps, and other tools.

With Plomin now live, the Cardano community has a greater role in shaping the network’s future through decentralized governance.

Learn more about the Plomin hard fork here.

Transforming Education with Blockchain: EMURGO Academy’s 2024 Milestones

In 2024,?EMURGO Academy’s SmartBlocks?solution delivered a lasting impact:

• Empowered?8,000+ students?with blockchain-related skills.
• Partnered with?17+ global universities?and signed?13 strategic MOUs?to advance Web3 education.

Through hands-on?SmartBlocks workshops, learners and faculty at leading institutions gained practical experience with blockchain. Our?Cardano360 for Campus?series also inspired students with the possibilities of Cardano’s cutting-edge technology. Looking ahead to 2025, EMURGO Academy is set to expand SmartBlocks and introduce more tailored learning opportunities.

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