Cardano’s Hoskinson Pushes Leios 24/7 — Can ADA Finally Prove the Doubters Wrong?

For years, Cardano has been both praised for its scientific approach and criticized for being slow to deliver results. Its founder, Charles Hoskinson, is now making a bold move to silence the critics. The upcoming Leios upgrade, combined with a new 24/7 global development strategy, could transform Cardano into one of the fastest and most efficient blockchains in the industry.

What is Leios and Why It Matters

Leios is Cardano’s most ambitious upgrade to date. It is designed to massively increase the network’s capacity, allowing far more transactions to be processed each second without sacrificing decentralization or security. Current figures show Cardano handles around 70,000 daily transactions with about $384 million in total value locked (TVL). By comparison, competitors like Solana often report higher activity and faster speeds, which has fueled doubts about Cardano’s competitiveness.

Leios aims to change this narrative by enabling parallel transaction processing and using a system called input endorsers, which can help scale the network to as many as 10,000 transactions per second. If successful, this would put Cardano on par with or even ahead of the most established blockchains in terms of speed and usability.

The “Follow-the-Sun” Development Model

Hoskinson announced a new 24/7 development approach during a community Q&A session in August 2025. Called the “follow-the-sun” model, it uses teams located across different time zones, meaning work on Leios continues around the clock. This structure ensures there are no long pauses in progress and development is constantly moving forward. With more than 100 engineers from Input Output Global (IOG) dedicated to the project, the hope is that the Leios upgrade will not face the kind of delays that have frustrated observers in the past.

Prototyping of Leios has already begun, and monthly progress updates are being shared through community channels, including YouTube. Full implementation is currently expected in 2026, though Hoskinson has made clear that the community will receive steady progress reports until then.

Addressing Cardano’s Critics

Cardano has faced years of criticism for being too academic and too slow, with many investors calling it “over-engineered.” Some even speculated that the project was losing momentum compared to faster-moving rivals.

Hoskinson has responded directly to these doubts, calling Leios an “endless scale engine” that will secure Cardano’s future as a leading blockchain. His active engagement with the community on social media platforms like X (formerly Twitter) shows a renewed focus on transparency and accountability.

This follows other important updates earlier in 2025. The Chang hard fork, launched in September, brought decentralized governance to Cardano, allowing the community to play a greater role in shaping the protocol. These changes free up more resources for technical upgrades like Leios while also making Cardano more democratic in its decision-making.

Community and Ecosystem Growth

The Cardano ecosystem has been steadily growing despite skepticism. The network has introduced Hydra, a layer-2 scaling solution for state channels, and Mithril, a lightweight verification protocol that speeds up node synchronization. Together with Leios, these technologies aim to create a highly scalable and user-friendly environment.

Hoskinson has also rallied the community around Rare Evo, a major event scheduled to showcase not only Leios but also Midnight (a privacy-focused blockchain project) and Starstream (bringing Bitcoin-powered decentralized finance to Cardano). These innovations highlight the broader vision of building a blockchain ecosystem that goes far beyond simple transactions.

Still, challenges remain. External vendors and developers who build on Cardano will need time to adapt to the new system. Past delays in rolling out upgrades have made some investors cautious. Yet the commitment of IOG’s engineering team suggests the project is better positioned now than at any point in its history.

Market Outlook for ADA

At the moment, ADA trades around $0.88, reflecting cautious sentiment in the market. However, analysts believe that if Leios prototypes prove successful, Cardano could see a strong price recovery. Some forecasts suggest a potential rally to $1 in the short term, with the possibility of even greater gains if Leios and related upgrades are fully implemented by 2026.

The broader crypto market environment will also play a role. Institutional adoption, regulatory clarity, and continued competition from networks like Ethereum, Solana, and Avalanche will influence how high ADA can climb.

Key Milestones in 2025

To better understand Cardano’s journey with Leios, here are the major developments so far this year:

• January 2025: Leios concept first introduced in the official roadmap, focusing on scalability goals.
• May 2025: Monthly technical updates begin, with community write-ups explaining parallel processing.
• July 2025: Hoskinson addresses community concerns, confirming prototyping is underway.
• August 2025: “Follow-the-sun” model revealed during AMA; $71 million in funding secured for Leios and Hydra.
• September 2025: Chang hard fork introduces decentralized governance and sparks new ecosystem discussions.

Experts argue that if Leios delivers on its promises, Cardano could experience a major revival, potentially seeing ADA’s price grow by as much as 300% by 2026. The combination of scalability, governance, and new projects like Midnight and Starstream could help Cardano compete with top-tier blockchains. However, execution will be the key challenge. Cardano must not only build the technology but also attract developers, users, and institutional interest. In the fast-paced world of blockchain, delays can mean losing ground to competitors.

Final Takeaway

Cardano’s Leios upgrade represents more than just a technical improvement, it is a test of the network’s resilience and long-term vision. With a relentless 24/7 development schedule, strong community backing, and ambitious scalability targets, Cardano is positioning itself for a comeback.

If Leios lives up to expectations, ADA could not only silence its doubters but also establish itself as one of the leading blockchains of the next era. But as with all things in crypto, success depends on execution, adoption, and timing.