Cardano Aims to Rival XRP Ledger's Speed After Leios Upgrade

Cardano's founder Charles Hoskinson claims that after the Leios upgrade, his network will be able to process transactions as quickly as the XRP Ledger. The Leios upgrade aims to increase Cardano's transaction capacity by up to 60 times, which would put it on par with the XRP Ledger in terms of speed.

Hoskinson compared this improvement to the XRPL, which is known for its efficiency and can process transactions between three and five seconds. He stressed that these improvements do not mean sacrificing the network's founding principles.

Cardano wants to prove that scalability does not require trade-offs between decentralization and security, often referred to as the blockchain trilemma. The path towards this goal is already underway with the public Leios testnet, named Musashi Dojo, which debuted on June 23, 2026.

Hoskinson also defended Midnight City against criticism from content creator Big Pey, who labeled it an example of wasteful spending within the ecosystem. According to Hoskinson, Midnight City is one of the most important applications for Cardano and will be a key factor in its adoption.