Cardano Hard Fork, Midnight Network Launch Eyed for Next Month

Cardano (ADA) founder Charles Hoskinson confirmed during a Feb. 19 livestream that the network is on track for a hard fork 'next month'. This comes as part of the protocol's schedule, with both protocol and developer-stack upgrades set to converge with the launch of the Midnight network.

Hoskinson described Midnight as an unusually difficult project, even for teams with experience launching major chains. However, he remains optimistic about its upcoming release, expecting it to debut 'next month' alongside the hard fork.

The Cardano founder also touched on ecosystem developments, highlighting a newly announced LayerZero integration that connects the network to more than 80 blockchains. Additionally, he discussed a stablecoin-like asset called USDCx, designed for non-EVM systems and offering an alternative to standard USDC with preserved 'privacy' and inability to be frozen.

Hoskinson expressed satisfaction with the pace of progress on Leios, a scalability upgrade still scheduled for delivery sometime this year. He also flagged additional near-term milestones, including a new Plutus version, continued Aiken development, node diversity, and the integration of Pyth as a 'tier one Oracle' for Cardano.