Cardano, with the upcoming Ouroboros Genesis upgrade, is about to make a huge breakthrough.

This is a critical turning point in Cardano's development towards complete peer-to-peer (P2P) node operations, an objective that its committed developer community has been assiduously pursuing.

Peer-to-peer (P2P) networking, which enables participants to exchange information, synchronise data, and come to consensus, is essential to the long-term decentralisation, security, and durability of blockchain technology.

For Cardano, the shift from the current hybrid paradigm to complete P2P networking has been gradual, but it has already started.

Dynamic P2P automated the peer selection process in March 2023. The relay and block-producing nodes' operations were made simpler by the node v.1.35.6 update, which also removed the requirement for static setups and human input from stake pool operators (SPO).

According to Cardano builder Input Output Global (IOG), the next and final waypoint on the path to full P2P node operations is expected to arrive with the impending Ouroboros Genesis release.

Ouroboros Genesis will be deployed as part of the Chang upgrade, which is expected to take place this summer. This enables nodes to self-bootstrap from the live Cardano network.

Currently, initial network entry necessitates synchronizing with a secure, trusted validator, typically a trusted fellow SPO or another entity. Once synchronized, nodes use Ouroboros Praos to operate in a decentralized way.

Using Cardano-node's P2P capabilities, Ouroboros Genesis is anticipated to further streamline the procedure, rendering it entirely autonomous and doing away with the need for human involvement.

It is also expected that the switch to full P2P node operations will improve the Cardano network's throughput and scalability, making it possible for it to support a larger variety of use cases and applications