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Cardano (ADA) is on the verge of a groundbreaking upgrade that could redefine its scalability and efficiency. According to Tim Harrison, EVP Community & Ecosystem at Input Output, the upcoming Leios upgrade will be a game-changer for the Cardano blockchain.
Harrison went on to explain the Leios upgrade: "Instead of one linear block at a time, Leios uses a parallel block process - created, endorsed and ranked by SPOs - dramatically increasing throughput while preserving security & decentralization."
Leios will be a game changing upgrade for Cardano.
— Tim Harrison (@timbharrison) March 26, 2025
Instead of one linear block at a time, Leios uses a parallel block process - created, endorsed and ranked by SPOs - dramatically increasing throughput while preserving security & decentralization.
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Ouroboros Leios, currently in research and development, is a protocol version that aims to boost Cardano network throughput by optimizing resource utilization and enabling faster transaction processing and confirmation.
Leios was created primarily to address scalability limitations in current systems by functioning as a high-throughput overlay on top of base protocols. It would address malicious actions such as protocol bursts (sudden floods of valid messages that congest the network) and equivocations (double-signing assaults), allowing for near-optimal transaction processing while maintaining security within real-world network restrictions.
Cardano's Ouroboros consensus protocol
The Ouroboros consensus system is at the heart of Cardano, enabling secure and rapid transaction settlement while also supporting the network's scalability and robustness.
Currently, Cardano runs the Ouroboros Praos protocol, which introduced significant security and scalability improvements to Ouroboros Classic. Leios is still in the research and development phase and will expand Praos' capabilities once implemented.
As new applications and bridges (for instance, Cardano-Midnight and Cardano-Bitcoin) increase demand, current throughput at nearly 12 TPS falls significantly behind competitors like Solana (at 7229 TPS). In Ouroboros Praos, security constraints (such as a 5-second block relay within a 20-second slot) limit block size and script execution, resulting in underutilization of network resources.
Leios addresses three interconnected challenges common in blockchains: transaction diffusion, transaction validation and availability, and transaction ordering.