Cardano launched its Hydra protocol last year and has been working on it ever since. The project has been making gains in establishing that it is a force to be reckoned with in the space, having eventually attained smart contract functionality in 2021. Its decentralized finance (DeFi) field is gaining traction. It now provides information about the Hydra protocol and how far the team has progressed in scaling it.
Hydra Has Changed
The developer behind Cardano, known as IOG, has released additional details on the project Hydra is up to in a recently published article on its official website. It explains the protocol, which is a long way from where it started. The Ouborous team’s Hydra continues to grow in order to boost throughput, minimize latency, and deliver cost-effective solutions without sacrificing storage resources.
Hydra has grown into a proof-of-concept protocol, which was not originally planned. As a result, the project is moving toward “a more specified implementation for the testate MVP.”
There are various Hydra Heads, which provide a powerful network layer between Cardano and other blockchains, as well as additional smart contracts that will drive a Hydra Head’s lifecycle. It functions as a mini-ledger, comparable to the Cardano network’s on-chain main ledger, but on a smaller size and off-chain.
With the consensus mechanism provided by this protocol, all parties involved in a transaction must agree before the transaction may proceed. This ensures that users who use the protocol have a very high level of security.
“As a result, as a participant, I cannot lose money that I have not specifically decided to lose.” Why? “Because any lawful transaction necessitates my express approval,” the report states.
Cardano is on its way to a million TPS
The Cardano network’s ability to process transactions per second is one of its selling factors. The proof of stake network is substantially quicker than its main competitor, ethereum. The initiative is dedicated to enhancing the TPS. However, Hydra isn’t only about that.
Although TPS may appear to be an essential statistic, the research demonstrates that it is the least useful indicator to employ when comparing transactions because they might come in various shapes and sizes. Yes, the blockchain is attempting to increase scalability, but “scalability isn’t about a million TPS.”
Instead of TPS, the paper recommends looking at throughput, finality, and concurrency, as these metrics are more relevant in the larger scheme of things. According to the research, these three measures represent volume, speed, and work done.
