Hoskinson says Cardano will be complete after Leios, its last major milestone
In brief
- Charles Hoskinson named the Leios upgrade as the one major milestone left before Cardano is complete.
- Leios adds endorser blocks and committee-based validation on top of Ouroboros Praos.
- Leios targets about 100 TPS, then 1,000 or more, per Input Output figures reported by U.Today.
- IOG developers showed about 1,000 TPS in September 2026 testing, U.Today reported.
- Musashi Dojo testnet has entered its Fire phase, according to Input Output.
What Hoskinson said
An X user asked Hoskinson whether the Cardano network was complete. He said yes, with one condition.
"After Leios, yes. It has everything I wanted to do," Hoskinson answered.
He then listed the features he sees in Cardano: decentralized consensus, governance and development, EUTXO, Plutus, scalability, security, formal methods, multiple independent nodes, self-improvement and millions of ADA holders. That's his own view of the chain, not an independent assessment.
Before that, Hoskinson said he's working on a concept that only Midnight (a privacy sidechain related to Cardano) can bring to crypto, and that it would solve most of the problems. He said it's almost fully designed at the concept level and called it the magnum opus of his career. He didn't give a product announcement or a timeline for it.
Why Leios matters for Cardano
Cardano's current consensus protocol, Ouroboros Praos, was designed for security and decentralization. It wasn't built for the throughput a globally adopted layer 1 needs.
Leios builds on Praos by adding endorser blocks and committee-based validation, which increase how many transactions the network can process. According to Input Output figures relayed by U.Today, the aim is to lift throughput from about 5–10 TPS to around 100 TPS, with a longer-term target of 1,000 TPS or more (subject to validation and parameter selection). Mainnet throughput is set to rise in phases, from 2x to 30x current capacity, with full capacity shown on testnet first.
In September 2026, IOG developers showed about 1,000 TPS with Ouroboros Leios in testing, U.Today reported. That's a test result, and it's separate from the longer-term 1,000 TPS target.
Where the testnet stands
The public Leios testnet, called MusashiNet or Musashi Dojo, launched on June 23, 2026. It's rolling out in five phases: Earth, Water, Fire, Wind and Void.
According to an Input Output update reported by U.Today, Musashi Dojo has entered its Fire phase, the third of the five.
The report lists the areas that would benefit from higher throughput: microtransactions, supply chain tracking, time-sensitive DeFi, decentralized identity and real-time voting. Those are the use cases that would test whether Leios gets Cardano to the "complete" state Hoskinson described.
Frequently asked questions
What is Cardano's Leios upgrade?
Leios is Cardano's next-generation consensus and scaling upgrade, meant to raise transaction throughput and speed while keeping decentralization and security. It builds on the current Ouroboros Praos protocol by adding endorser blocks and committee-based validation.
How much will Leios increase Cardano's throughput?
According to Input Output figures relayed by U.Today, Leios aims to raise throughput from about 5–10 TPS to around 100 TPS, with a longer-term target of 1,000 TPS or more, subject to validation and parameter selection. Mainnet capacity is set to rise in phases from 2x to 30x.
What stage is the Leios testnet in?
The public testnet, called MusashiNet or Musashi Dojo, launched on June 23, 2026, and is rolling out in five phases: Earth, Water, Fire, Wind and Void. According to an Input Output update, it has entered its Fire phase.
