Crypto: Hoskinson Unveils a Game-Changing New Language for Cardano!

Charles Hoskinson personally develops a new programming language for Cardano with Lucas Rosa, one of the creators of Aiken. The project aims to combine transaction intents, proof-carrying data, and Groth16 proofs. For this new crypto building block, no name, public code, or launch schedule has yet been announced.

Hoskinson personally takes the keyboard on Cardano

Charles Hoskinson does not just oversee the project. He states that he is directly involved in the development of the language. The announcement comes as Cardano is already accelerating its technical work. A few days earlier, Hoskinson explained that the Leios upgrade was to complete much of the network’s architecture, including higher throughput and new scaling capabilities.

This time, the work concerns more the crypto applications built on top of Cardano. Hoskinson works with Lucas Rosa, co-creator of Aiken, one of the main languages used to develop validators on the network. He describes their project as the first of its kind to bring together intents, proof-carrying data, and Groth16 proofs.

The language, however, still has no public name. No code repository has been presented either. Hoskinson has not indicated a testnet, release date, or first application using this technology. The project remains at an early stage.

Crypto transactions described by their result

The concept of “intent” changes the way to request an operation from a blockchain application. Today, a transaction may require several precise steps. With a system based on intents, the user mainly indicates the result they want to obtain.

A trader could, for example, request: exchange one token for another only if the final price respects a given limit. They would not necessarily have to define all the intermediate steps themselves.

Proof-carrying data adds another layer. Information can travel with a cryptographic proof certifying that a calculation or series of rules was indeed respected. The application receiving the result then verifies the proof instead of reproducing the entire calculation.

Groth16 is intended to serve this verification. This cryptographic proof system produces compact and fast-to-check proofs. Cardano is already strengthening its cryptographic toolbox. In May, the network had tested five new Plutus primitives, notably to improve performance and possibilities offered to developers.

The new language could go further by directly integrating several of these logics into the way applications are built. For now, Hoskinson has not explained how this technology will integrate with Cardano’s existing architecture.

Cardano already has multiple languages

The new project does not arrive on empty ground. Cardano has been using Plutus for several years, its historic environment for smart contracts. Aiken is a more recent alternative, with syntax and tools designed to simplify developers’ work.

Contracts written in several Cardano languages usually end up compiled to UPLC, the format executed by nodes during validation. Hoskinson has not yet indicated if his new language will follow exactly the same path.

He also has not explained whether he aims to replace Aiken or Plutus. Nothing in his announcement allows us to say so at this time. The ecosystem also has Compact, used on Midnight. This privacy-focused blockchain already occupies an important place in Hoskinson’s strategy, notably thanks to zero-knowledge proofs and applications handling private data.

The new language therefore shares some ideas with technologies already present in Cardano’s crypto ecosystem, while adding a strong orientation towards intents and proofs attached to data. Hoskinson promises a “first of its kind” approach. Now we wait to see the code.