As the Chang hard fork approaches, Cardano is receiving increased attention and support from Hollywood celebrity Martin Lawrence. Known for his roles alongside Will Smith in the “Bad Boys” movies, Lawrence has demonstrated growing optimism toward the platform. In a recent social media post, he expressed his enthusiasm for Cardano’s ecosystem, further solidifying his endorsement of the cryptocurrency.

On June 23, Lawrence took to social media to share a video featuring the Cardano song and the blockchain platform’s founder, Charles Hoskinson. Accompanied by hashtags related to the project, the post quickly gained significant traction, garnering nearly 130,000 views on the X platform (formerly Twitter). Hoskinson responded to Lawrence’s post with a “respect” meme, indicating their positive relationship.

Lawrence’s association with Cardano and its founder, Charles Hoskinson, dates back to 2021-2022 when the two engaged in a Twitter chat about non-fungible tokens (NFTs). That interaction took place in June 2022, following in the footsteps of other celebrities involved in the project, including rapper Snoop Dogg and singer Gene Simmons of the rock band Kiss, who made significant investments in ADA.

Additionally, “Wonder Woman” actress Gal Gadot supported Cardano’s growth through her investment and support of AdaSwap, an NFT platform featuring collections from renowned artists, including Lawrence himself. Lawrence now ranks among the top seven “most influential” ADA creators.

Amid Lawrence’s recent support, Cardano is preparing for a significant milestone: the Chang hard fork. Initially announced in late 2022, the long-awaited software update, Cardano Node 9.0, is set to ship this month. According to Charles Hoskinson, the Chang Hard Fork will be a significant milestone for Cardano and the entire blockchain industry. Hoskinson further stated:

Cardano will be a decentralized civilization spanning the entire world with millions of residents. We’ll have the most advanced blockchain governance system, annual budgets, a treasury, and the wisdom of our entire community to guide us. It’s been nearly ten years for some of us on this remarkable journey. I can’t believe that in a single decade, we built a nation. I’m proud of all of you. Cardano gives me hope for our industry and the world. Let’s spend the next decade making a big dent in the universe.

As of this writing, the blockchain’s native token, ADA, is trading at $0.39, representing a 4% price recovery over the past 24 hours, as the token has been steadily retreating for the past three months from an annual high of $0.81 reached in March.

The Cardano network is set to move into the final phase of a multiyear program to become a wholly decentralized blockchain ecosystem later this month, co-founder Charles Hoskinson said in an X post Monday. The project's roadmap says that once the switch is complete, the seven-year-old blockchain will no longer be actively managed by Cardano development firm IOHK but will instead be wholly run by community members.

The Cardano Node will reach version 9.0, making it ready for a hard fork to enter the Voltaire era. The network is ready for its Chang fork and waiting for 70% of operators to install the new node. Cardano's Voltaire phase, the final stage of its roadmap to create a fully decentralized blockchain ecosystem, is set to occur in June.

The first part of Voltaire will see the implementation of CIP 1694, a proposal that will allow holders of the native (ADA) token to vote on topics and features that benefit Cardano. A second step will enable more novel features, such as proxy participation and treasury withdrawals, allowing users to propose and fund projects within the Cardano ecosystem.