Hoskinson Plans Cardano Language as DeFi Lags

Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson is developing a programming language with Lucas Rosa, a software engineer at Input Output Global. The project will support intent-based transactions and proof-carrying data using Groth16 cryptographic proofs.

Intent-based transactions let users state the result they want while software performs the required actions under set conditions. Proof-carrying data attaches cryptographic evidence to information or computations, allowing an application to check whether they are valid without exposing all underlying data.

The language could be used for automated settlement, private verification and transactions involving multiple assets. Its architecture, performance targets and technical specifications have not been published. Hoskinson has described it as the first language of its kind.

Rosa previously helped develop Aiken, a Cardano programming language designed to simplify smart-contract development compared with the network’s Plutus and Haskell-based tools. Cardano already supports verification for pairing-based zero-knowledge proofs, which the proposed language would use.

The project comes as Cardano prepares for Ouroboros Leios, a planned scalability upgrade. Hoskinson has described Leios as the final component of his original vision for Cardano, which includes decentralized consensus and governance, extended unspent transaction output accounting, Plutus smart contracts, formal verification and multiple independent node implementations.

The Leios roadmap targets a 10- to 65-fold increase in transaction throughput through a phased rollout. The upgrade has not yet been completed.

Cardano’s ADA token had a market capitalization of about $8.3 billion, while decentralized finance applications on the network held about $63 million in assets. Blockchain data showed that Cardano’s decentralized exchanges processed about $927,000 in the 24 hours through Oct. 19. Weekly decentralized-exchange volume was about $8.35 million, down 25% from the previous seven-day period.

The network recorded 12,716 active addresses and 28,146 transactions during the same 24-hour period, generating about $2,196 in fees. Cardano’s stablecoin supply was about $70 million.

Solana held about $5.9 billion in DeFi deposits and processed roughly $1.45 billion in decentralized-exchange transactions during the same period. Its stablecoin supply exceeded $15.5 billion. Solana’s market capitalization was about $62 billion, while its DeFi deposits were more than 90 times larger than Cardano’s.

Decentralized exchanges use liquidity to process trades, while lending applications rely on deposits and borrowing activity. Cardano’s proposed language is intended to give developers tools for applications that use automated execution and cryptographic verification.