Charles Hoskinson Says Cardano’s Leios Upgrade Could Match XRP Ledger Performance

Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson believes the upcoming Ouroboros Leios upgrade could dramatically boost the blockchain’s performance, increasing its transaction capacity by as much as 60 times while preserving its core principles of decentralization and security.

Speaking during an interview on The Breakdown podcast with David Gokhshtein, Hoskinson said the Leios protocol is designed to solve Cardano’s scalability challenges without compromising network integrity. He argued that the upgrade could make Cardano’s performance comparable to the XRP Ledger, which is widely recognized for its fast transaction processing.

According to Hoskinson, the upgrade will significantly improve throughput, allowing Cardano to compete with high-speed blockchain networks while maintaining its decentralized architecture. The XRP Ledger is known for settlement times of roughly three to five seconds and a theoretical capacity of up to 1,500 transactions per second. In March 2026, the network recorded more than 120 transactions per second during peak activity with around 650 operations.

Cardano has already begun testing the technology. Its public Leios testnet, called Musashi Dojo, launched on June 23, 2026, marking the first live testing phase for the protocol. Hoskinson expects the upgrade to reach the Cardano mainnet before the end of the year.

The Cardano founder also addressed criticism surrounding Midnight City, an interactive platform built to showcase the privacy-focused Midnight Network. Crypto content creator Big Pey argued that the project represented excessive spending with little evidence of attracting new users.

Hoskinson rejected those claims, saying critics misunderstand how consumer-focused blockchain products develop over time. He expressed confidence that Midnight City will prove its value and challenged critics to revisit their opinions in a year.

Midnight City features a retro-inspired virtual environment where AI-powered agents simulate real-world economic activity by generating blockchain transactions. The platform is intended to demonstrate practical use cases for Midnight Network before wider adoption.

Hoskinson added that institutional interest continues to grow, with organizations including Monument Bank, Google, and AlphaTON Capital already involved, while discussions with investment banks in the U.S. and Europe are ongoing. He described 2026 as a crucial beta phase focused on strengthening the ecosystem ahead of broader mainstream adoption.