TL;DR:
- Cardano targets Nested Transactions and Linear Leios for mainnet by late 2026, with Peras planned for a second-phase hard fork in Q2 2027.
- Node 11.1.1, 11.2 and 11.3 will deliver fixes, testing features and a hard fork candidate before version 12.0.
- DijkstraNet will test Plutus V4, Nested Transactions and CIP-50, while governance and readiness could place hard fork enactment between December 2026 and March 2027.
Cardano is entering a critical development stretch as the Dijkstra era moves toward a phased rollout designed to introduce major protocol capabilities over the coming months. The roadmap now centers on delivering Nested Transactions and Linear Leios to mainnet by the end of 2026, followed by Peras through an intra-era hard fork targeted for the second quarter of 2027. Intersect says progress is advancing across node development, ecosystem readiness and downstream tooling, setting up a sequence of releases that will determine how quickly developers, stake pool operators and governance participants can prepare for the transition.
What does Dijkstra ask of you now?
Good news, there is time to find out and prepare
properly.
Weekly Update #127: inc the node roadmap, what SPOs, developers and DReps can do now, and more…https://t.co/quIAO5zMU0
— Intersect (@IntersectMBO) September 7, 2026
The immediate schedule begins with Cardano-node 11.1.1, expected by September 7 for mainnet use, removing the legacy tracing system and addressing known Genesis issues. Node 11.2 is expected within a month and will bring the broader Dijkstra feature set into testing, although Leios elements will remain outside that release because they are largely tied to consensus and block production. Cardano-node 11.3 is then targeted as the hard fork release candidate within one to two months, while version 12.0 is expected to become the definitive hard fork node release later.
Cardano Builds Toward Dijkstra Testing And Governance
Testing infrastructure will expand alongside those node releases. A public DijkstraNet is planned after version 11.2, allowing developers to begin working with Plutus V4, Nested Transactions and CIP-50 while MusashiNet continues evaluating Leios. Running both environments in parallel should separate broader feature testing from the network’s consensus-focused development work, giving ecosystem participants clearer paths to evaluate specific changes. Cardano has also scheduled node diversity workshops in Singapore on October 6 and London on November 13 and 14, adding coordination points for operators and developers before the hard fork enters its final readiness phase.
The timing of the Dijkstra hard fork itself remains intentionally flexible. Following a recalibration of the technical delivery plan, a moderate-confidence window places potential enactment between December 5, 2026 and January 4, 2027, while the high-confidence window runs from February 24 through March 26, 2027. That wide range reflects a rollout built around readiness rather than a fixed ceremonial date, with constitutional amendments also expected to be proposed publicly for governance review. The coming months therefore combine software releases, test networks, workshops and governance steps, making Dijkstra a coordinated ecosystem transition rather than a single technical upgrade.