Cardano’s latest developments were highlighted in the weekly development report, showcasing new releases and ongoing work in the ecosystem. One notable release was Hydra v.0.16.0, the latest version of the scaling solution that supports cardano-node v.8.9.0 and integrates the Conway block format. The Hydra team also updated some of its clients, including Kupo and Hydraw, to be compatible with the new Hydra API format.
Hydra is Cardano’s layer 2 scaling solution, designed to enhance transaction speed by offering high throughput, low latency, and low costs. Last year, Cardano achieved a major milestone by launching the first mainnet-compatible Hydra node, paving the way for scaling to a million transactions per second. Despite its potential, Hydra has faced criticism and fear, with detractors spreading false claims about the team abandoning the project. Founder Charles Hoskinson addressed these concerns on social media, dismissing them as FUD (fear, uncertainty, and doubt).
In addition to Hydra, other core teams made significant progress. The Lace Web3 wallet team released Lace v.1.10, introducing a simplified onboarding experience, enhanced security for dApp wallets, and improved staking views. Meanwhile, the Mithril team focused on implementing certification of Cardano transactions in Mithril networks, with a particular emphasis on scaling the signature and proof generation for the mainnet. They also worked on incremental transactions storage and a prototype for decentralizing signer registration.
On April 26, Cardano will host an event in Barcelona, Spain, where Project Catalyst will launch Fund12. Project Catalyst is a growth engine and grant program for the Cardano ecosystem that previously launched Fund11 in January, allocating 50 million ADA tokens to fund community ideas. Individuals can register to attend the event in person or livestream it from anywhere in the world.
In summary, Cardano continues to develop and improve its ecosystem, with significant advancements in Hydra, Lace Web3 wallet, and Mithril. The upcoming event in Barcelona will further promote growth and innovation within the Cardano community.