Name the Protocol Version 12 hard fork “von Bergen“
Discussed in the Governance Review for epochs 650 to 652.
4 of 7 committee members voted
- Ace Alliance71aa5b3a…8f04NoActive · term ends epoch 726Rationale
Ace Alliance finds the proposed "Name the Protocol Version 12 hard fork “von Bergen“" Info Governance Action Unconstitutional under Article II.6.1. This finding concerns format only, not the merits of the commemoration. Rationales are archived at https://github.com/ace-alliance/ace-voting/
A PDF version of this rationale is also made available.
"Name the Protocol Version 12 hard fork “von Bergen“" (gov_action1fza...qgfc9h) is an Info Governance Action proposing that the Protocol Version 12 hard fork be named in salute and recognition of Fabian von Bergen, known to the community as Zyroxa, who passed away in January 2026. According to Article III, Section 1(4) of the Cardano Constitution, Constitutional Committee members are responsible for determining the constitutionality of "any proposed or contemplated actions contained within 'Info' actions." We state at the outset what this rationale is and is not: it is a finding about the constitutional format of this governance action, and it is not a judgment on the commemoration itself, which we address separately below.
Under Article II.6.1, all governance actions "shall follow a standardized and legible format before being recorded or enacted on-chain", and the required format includes a URL hosting a context document together with the hash of that document, where "The document hosted by such a URL shall be immutable and incapable of being altered after submission". This Action anchors its metadata at a plain HTTPS URL on a privately operated web server. We investigated before reaching a conclusion. As of our review, the document at that URL is live and its blake2b-256 hash exactly matches the hash recorded on-chain, so no alteration has occurred. The constitutional distinction, however, is not who operates the hosting. A URL that embeds the hash of the document it names, such as a content addressed IPFS URI or a commit hash URL, is self verifying and immutable in the constitutional sense: the identifier itself commits to the content, so what the URL names can never change, it can at most become unavailable. A location addressed URL names a place rather than a content commitment. Nothing in this Action's URL binds it to this document; whatever is placed at that location tomorrow answers to the same URL, and the document it hosts is therefore capable of being altered after submission. The constitutional requirement is not that alteration be detectable; it is that the document "shall be immutable and incapable of being altered after submission". This Action does not meet the format that Article II.6.1 requires.
This requirement is a deliberate feature of the Constitution now in force. The prior Constitution asked only that governance actions follow a standardized format "including a URL and hash" of the off-chain content; it imposed no immutability requirement on the hosted document, and under that text this Action would not have presented a constitutional problem. The Constitution ratified by the community and effective at epoch 609 added the immutability mandate expressly. Where the constitutional text has been strengthened by the community, we are bound to apply it as written. Content addressed hosting that satisfies the requirement is freely and widely available, and the on-chain governance ecosystem, including this Committee's own publications, uses it as a matter of course.
On the merits, which we do not reach as a matter of constitutional judgment, we wish to be plain: the contemplated naming aligns with Tenet 4, which emphasizes that community contributions should be recognized and recorded, and it fits squarely within the community tradition of naming hard forks after dedicated community members who have passed away. Fabian von Bergen was a community member since the Incentivized Testnet, the operator of the Tempus stake pool, a Cardano Ambassador from the earliest days of the program, and a critical, honest, and generous voice who introduced and guided many through the Cardano ecosystem. Nothing in this rationale should be read as diminishing that legacy or the community sentiment behind this Action.
A final observation completes the picture. The naming of hard forks rests with the Hard Fork Working Group, which has made the name subject to community governance. An Info Action has no direct on-chain effect, and the votes cast on this Action remain a register of community sentiment, imperfect instrument though it is. Nothing in this finding prevents the commemorative name from being adopted: if the Hard Fork Working Group judges this Action a valid show of community sentiment, the hard fork may yet carry Fabian's name, and that judgment lies with the Working Group.
Ace Alliance finds the proposed "Name the Protocol Version 12 hard fork “von Bergen“" Info Governance Action Unconstitutional under Article II.6.1.
- Cardano Japan Council725d4d44…7b31NoExpired · term ends epoch 653Rationale
We consider this governance action to be unconstitutional.
This proposal is an Information Governance Action regarding the "Name the Protocol Version 12 hard fork 'von Bergen'." We determine that this proposal does not meet the requirements of Article 2, Section 6, Paragraph 1 of the Cardano Constitution. Article 2, Section 6, Paragraph 1 of the Cardano Constitution requires that Governance Actions include a URL and a hash of the document, and further requires that the document published at that URL be immutable and cannot be altered after submission. Furthermore, Governance Actions are required to follow a standardized and legible format. The off-chain reference cited in this proposal is the following URL: https://str8pool.com/governance/2026-07-23-FabianvBergen.jsonld. This URL is a standard HTTPS URL, and the content at this URL may be modified in the future. Therefore, this reference cannot be deemed an immutable off-chain reference. Furthermore, regarding the submitted JSON-LD, garbled characters were observed in some quotation marks and apostrophes; from the perspective of readability, it cannot be deemed to conform to the "standardized and legible format" required by Article 2, Section 6, Paragraph 1 of the Cardano Constitution. Regardless of the type of Governance Action, providing an immutable off-chain reference and publishing documents in a standardized and legible format are essential requirements for ensuring the reproducibility and verifiability of the proposal's content. Therefore, as this proposal does not comply with Article 2, Section 6, Paragraph 1 of the Cardano Constitution, it is deemed unconstitutional.
For the reasons stated above, we determine that it is unconstitutional.
- Eastern Cardano Council2ea7a78e…10ecNoActive · term ends epoch 726Rationale
We have determined that this Info governance action is unconstitutional.
Article III, Section 1(2) of the Cardano Constitution states "The CC shall be limited to voting on the constitutionality of governance actions, including any proposed or contemplated actions contained within "Info" actions."
The governance action with ID “gov_action1fza...qgfc9h” and title “Name the Protocol Version 12 hard fork “von Bergen“” is an Info governance action, so is subject to constitutional assessment.
Article II, Section 6(1) of the Cardano Constitution states "To ensure transparency in on-chain governance, proposed governance actions shall follow a standardized and legible format before being recorded or enacted on-chain. This format shall include a URL hosting a document that outlines additional context for the proposed governance action, and the hash of this document. The document hosted by such a URL shall be immutable and incapable of being altered after submission, and the content of every on-chain Governance Action must be identical to the final off-chain version of the proposed action.”
The URL used for the governance action’s metadata document is https://str8pool.com/governance/2026-07-23-FabianvBergen.jsonld, which is not immutable.
We therefore find this governance action Unconstitutional.
This governance action does not fulfil all the requirements for governance actions specified in the Cardano Constitution, so is deemed unconstitutional.
- Tingvard646d1b3a…be43AbstainActive · term ends epoch 726Rationale
Tingvard abstains on the “Naming Protocol Version 12 ‘von Bergen’” Info Action, while signalling support for the sentiment and intention behind it.
This Info Action proposes naming the Protocol Version 12 hard fork “von Bergen” in recognition of Fabian von Bergen, also known as Zyroxa.
Fabian was a long-standing Cardano community member, SPO of Tempus Stake Pool, Cardano Ambassador, and a known voice on the Cardano Forum. The action seeks to honour his contribution to the ecosystem and preserve his name in Cardano’s history.
Tingvard does not judge this action constitutional or unconstitutional because it is an Info Action with no direct on-chain effect. It does not change protocol parameters, amend the Constitution, initiate a hard fork, withdraw treasury funds, or otherwise enact a binding ledger change.
The Constitutional Committee’s role is limited to assessing the constitutionality of governance actions with direct constitutional or ledger effect. This action expresses a community preference and symbolic naming proposal. It is therefore not appropriate for Tingvard to treat it as a constitutional question.
However, Tingvard supports the intention of the action.
Recognising people who have contributed meaningfully to Cardano is part of preserving the history and culture of the ecosystem. Fabian’s long-standing presence, honesty, and contribution to the Cardano community are worthy of respect.
Tingvard abstains on the “Naming Protocol Version 12 ‘von Bergen’” Info Action.
This abstention should not be read as opposition. Tingvard does not judge the constitutionality of this Info Action, but signals support for the proposal’s purpose: honouring Fabian von Bergen’s contribution to Cardano.
- Cardano Curia84feba94…6bd5Not votedActive · term ends epoch 799No rationale
- KtorZ64f97568…3a49Not votedExpired · term ends epoch 653No rationale
- Phil_uplc68bb0b42…8746Not votedActive · term ends epoch 799No rationale