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Cardano developers have merged three Leios components into the main development branch, a significant engineering milestone but not a mainnet launch. The October 26, 2026 report covers Praos2, LeiosNotify and LeiosFetch, which connect Cardano’s Ouroboros Praos consensus to Leios data exchange and retrieval. Endorser-block selection and retrieval work is still unfinished, so Cardano has not yet delivered a 15× production-speed increase. The current plan describes an initial three-to-five-times capacity gain during the Dijkstra-era rollout, followed by parameter changes that could reach 10–15 times current capacity.
What did Cardano developers merge for Leios?
The merge combines three pieces of infrastructure needed for Leios to operate with the existing node software:
- Praos2 combines Ouroboros Praos consensus with the Leios design instead of replacing Cardano’s security model.
- LeiosNotify supports node-to-node notification and exchange of Leios data.
- LeiosFetch handles retrieval of Leios data that another node announces.
CryptoSlate’s October 26, 2026 report describes the merge as a development-branch milestone. Endorser-block selection and parts of retrieval remain under development, so the code merge should not be read as evidence that Leios is active on Cardano’s mainnet.
Is Cardano really getting 15× faster?
Not immediately. The 15× figure is a staged target, and the eventual result depends on protocol parameters, transaction size, computation and test results. The first Dijkstra-era phase is described as roughly three to five times current capacity; later parameter increases are intended to reach 10–15 times. Input Output’s broader proposal discusses simulated and validated outcomes ranging from 10× to 65× under different settings, which is a wider engineering range than the headline target.
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| Measure | Published figure | Qualification |
|---|---|---|
| Current Ouroboros Praos ceiling | Approximately 4.5 kilobytes of transaction data per second | Input Output estimate reported by CryptoSlate in 2026 |
| Initial Leios target | Approximately 13.5–22.5 kilobytes per second | CryptoSlate’s report of Input Output estimates for the first phase |
| Later potential range | Approximately 45–67.5 kilobytes per second | Potential after parameter increases, not stable production performance |
| Project FAQ claim | Up to 1,500+ transactions per second, or 30–65× current Praos levels | Ouroboros Leios project claim from simulations and stated benefits |
| Cardano 2030 strategy target | About 800,000 transactions per month to more than 27 million | Input Output strategy target for 2026–2030 planning |
These figures are not interchangeable benchmarks. A transaction carrying more data or requiring more computation consumes more capacity, so transactions per second and kilobytes per second can produce very different-looking multiples.
How does Leios increase capacity?
Leios separates transaction diffusion and endorsement from the sequential ranking layer. In the design described by the official FAQ, endorser blocks (EBs) carry and certify additional transaction batches in parallel, while ranking blocks (RBs) preserve the linear order and security anchor.
EBs are produced about every five seconds and RBs about every 20 seconds in that design. The parallel work allows more transaction data to be prepared and certified between ranking events, while the ranking chain maintains a single ordering history.
Leios is not sharding. Every node still validates the entire chain, so adding more nodes does not automatically multiply capacity by dividing the ledger into independent shards. The gain comes from parallel endorsement and data handling within the base layer, with node resources and network propagation still acting as limits.
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When will Leios go live on Cardano?
No cited source provides an exact Dijkstra mainnet activation date. Input Output’s proposal targets full integration into the primary node by the fourth quarter of 2026 and says the public testnet should demonstrate the planned capacity before staged mainnet increases.
As of October 26, 2026, the Dijkstra testnet was still running Conway rules. It needed a node 11.2 prerelease and a hard-fork initiation action to move to protocol version 12, so the new Leios rules had not yet entered testing in the report. Intersect’s consensus updates also describe active prototype work, including stake-based committee selection, real BLS signatures, late-join support and database-performance testing.
Activation therefore depends on successful testnet migration, completed endorser-block functionality, governance approval and operator readiness. A code merge alone cannot satisfy those gates.
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Which governance votes control the scaling upgrade?
The rollout uses separate approvals for the constitutional framework, the Dijkstra hard fork and later capacity changes. The thresholds reported for each stage are:
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| Decision | Delegated representatives | Stake-pool operators | Constitutional Committee |
|---|---|---|---|
| Constitutional parameter framework | 75% support | Not stated | Two-thirds approval |
| Dijkstra hard fork | 60% support | 51% support | Two-thirds approval |
| Later capacity-parameter changes | 67% support | 51% support | Two-thirds approval |
This structure means a technically ready release can still wait for governance votes. It also separates permission to deploy the protocol from permission to increase capacity after operating data is available.
What do stake-pool operators need for Leios?
Stake-pool operators must register BLS keys to certify endorser blocks. Input Output estimates that keys representing 90–95% of delegated stake should be registered before activation, while Leios certification requires signatures representing at least 75% of active stake. A pool without a BLS key can continue ordinary block production but cannot vote on endorser blocks.
The project FAQ’s latest simulations recommend at least six CPU cores, bandwidth above 100 Mbps and SSD storage. Those are simulation guidance, not a universal hardware guarantee; operators will need to compare them with their own transaction mix, database size and spare capacity.
After key registration, controlled high-load exercises are intended to measure transaction-batch propagation, certification reliability and remaining node headroom. The results are expected to inform proposals for later parameter increases.
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What will users and infrastructure providers have to update?
Leios introduces new block types and higher data rates, so the impact extends beyond validator nodes. Wallets, explorers, indexers and API services will need software changes to recognize endorser blocks and process the additional throughput. Applications that assume every useful transaction appears only in the existing ranking-block flow may need to revise ingestion, confirmation and monitoring logic.
What are the main risks and trade-offs?
- Unfinished protocol work: endorser-block selection and retrieval still need implementation and validation.
- Testnet migration: Dijkstra must move from Conway rules to the new protocol version before realistic capacity testing can begin.
- Governance timing: several votes are required, with different thresholds for the hard fork and later parameter changes.
- Stake coverage: insufficient BLS-key registration could prevent the network from meeting certification requirements.
- Node headroom: higher throughput is useful only if CPU, storage and network capacity remain available under load.
- Application compatibility: surrounding infrastructure must support the new block types and data volume.
Leios is also distinct from Hydra. Leios is a base-layer protocol that uses parallel endorsement across the open network. Hydra is a separate Layer 2 state-channel approach designed for known participant groups, so the two address different scaling situations rather than representing competing versions of the same mechanism.
What should readers watch next?
The clearest signals of progress will be completion of endorser-block selection, migration of the Dijkstra testnet to protocol version 12, broad BLS-key registration and published results from controlled high-load exercises. Only after those steps, the required votes and operator preparation can Cardano decide whether to raise capacity parameters toward the later 10–15× target.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What does the 1,500-transactions-per-second figure mean for a real application?
It is a project FAQ claim based on simulations and stated benefits, not a guaranteed mainnet rate. Actual application throughput will vary with transaction size, script computation and the parameter set eventually approved.
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Can a stake pool run normally without registering a BLS key?
Yes. The reported design allows a pool without a BLS key to continue ordinary block production, but it cannot certify or vote on endorser blocks. That limits its role in Leios endorsement even if its normal pool operations continue.
How is Leios different from a Layer 2 scaling system?
Leios changes Cardano’s base-layer consensus and data flow, with every node still validating the chain. A Layer 2 system such as Hydra serves selected participant groups through state channels, so it can be useful for a different application pattern rather than replacing Leios.
Why can’t the 15× target be treated as a guaranteed speed increase?
The target combines several rollout phases and depends on future parameter decisions. Published figures also use different units and conditions, and no cited source reports sustained 15× throughput on the production mainnet.
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