Rumors have been circulating that Cardano’s Hydra layer-2 scaling project has been abandoned, but co-founder Charles Hoskinson has clarified that this is not true. In a statement on social media, Hoskinson dismissed these rumors as “pure FUD” and assured his followers that developers are still focused on the project. Hydra is a protocol launched in May 2023 with the aim of increasing transaction capacity and reducing costs on the Cardano blockchain. It is an important component of Cardano’s roadmap for scaling, known as “Basho.”
The rumors about Hydra’s abandonment emerged after Hoskinson announced an integration with Hyperledger Firefly, a scaling solution that helps enterprises build and scale Web3 applications. Hoskinson explained that this integration does not mean they have moved away from Hydra. He emphasized that the team is highly productive and motivated, with active community engagement and plans for improving the protocol.
This is not the first time Hoskinson has had to address speculation and fear, uncertainty, and doubt (FUD) regarding Hydra. In the past, he defended Cardano’s scaling capabilities and clarified that it is not designed to be a transactions-per-second (TPS) system, but rather a transaction-per-transaction system. Hydra has evolved to include middleware for developers to create decentralized applications (dApps) on Cardano.
Hoskinson reiterated his stance on March 18, responding to a “wave of FUD” surrounding Cardano’s collaboration with World Mobile, a digital ID platform, and its scaling roadmap. He expressed frustration with the negativity and attributed it to a common cycle in the cryptocurrency industry where people become anxious about Cardano’s potential and roadmap.
While Cardano has experienced growth in terms of total value locked (TVL) in decentralized finance (DeFi), reaching an all-time high of $520 million on March 14, it still lags behind competitors like Ethereum, Tron, BNB Chain, and Solana, which have a combined TVL of $72 billion.
Despite these challenges, Cardano remains committed to its vision of providing a scalable and cost-effective blockchain solution. The team continues to work on Hydra and other improvements to enhance the Cardano ecosystem.
I’m not sure if Cardano can ever truly deliver on its vision of a scalable blockchain. It’s been a bumpy ride so far.
Cardano may have some competition, but their dedication to scalability and cost-effectiveness will surely help them stand out. 💪
Another wave of FUD surrounding Cardano’s collaboration. It’s becoming a recurring theme.