Cardano Targets 60X Speed Boost to Rival XRP Ledger

Hoskinson: Leios Puts Cardano on Par With XRP Ledger

Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson has made a bold claim about the network's next major protocol upgrade. Speaking in an interview with David Gokhshtein on The Breakdown podcast, Hoskinson said the Ouroboros Leios upgrade will increase Cardano's internal throughput by up to 60 times its current capacity. He argued the improvement would put Cardano on equal footing with the $XRP Ledger in terms of raw performance.

"Leios will be a 60x in terms of throughput inside the system, so we're good, we're as performant as XRP, and we still kept our principles," Hoskinson said.

The comparison carries real weight. The XRP Ledger is capable of processing up to 1,500 transactions per second with settlement times of 3 to 5 seconds, a benchmark that has made it a preferred network for payments and cross-border transfers. Cardano's current throughput sits well below that level, a gap that has drawn persistent criticism from developers and investors.

The Ouroboros Leios protocol introduces parallel transaction processing, aiming to reach speeds above 1,000 TPS while preserving decentralization and security. Hoskinson stressed that the gains come without the usual trade-offs associated with the blockchain trilemma, where scaling improvements often come at the cost of security or decentralization.

Testnet Live, Mainnet Targeted for Year-End

A public testnet called Musashi Dojo launched on June 23, 2026, marking the protocol's first operation in a live network environment. Mainnet deployment is scheduled before the end of 2026.

Hoskinson also said higher performance could attract more users, increase transaction activity, and lift DeFi TVL on the network. The comments follow an earlier warning from Hoskinson that Cardano's ecosystem could suffer if key governance votes fail to approve critical upgrades. He noted that the DeFi TVL on Cardano could collapse if governance members do not vote to approve the upgrades, remarks that came after notable Cardano ecosystem projects TapTools and JPG Store shut down.

The upgrade carries execution risk. Deployment on a live, decentralised mainnet introduces technical hurdles that a testnet environment does not fully replicate, and any delays could weigh on developer and market confidence heading into 2027.

Sources
BeInCrypto: Charles Hoskinson Bets Cardano Will Rival XRP Ledger's Speed After the Leios Upgrade
CryptoNews: Hoskinson Says Cardano Will Be as Performant as XRP With Leios Upgrade
CoinMarketCap: Latest Cardano (ADA) News and Updates