Bitrabo Editorial
Charles Hoskinson, the creator of Cardano, has announced significant advancements in the development and study of new protocols. Through a post on X, he mentioned that “Ouroboros Peras is among the best prototyped protocols we’ve developed—complete with an Agda specification, a CIP, simulations, and a functioning prototype before the final paper is out. We’re already in discussions for the Implementation Statement of Work (SoW).”
Additionally, Hoskinson shared that resources are now focused on Ouroboros Leios. He stated that “Research and innovation are progressing rapidly. Our team is shifting all resources to Leios, with 6.8 Full-Time Equivalents (FTEs) currently engaged in swift innovation.”
The term “implementation SoW” pertains to the negotiation of a formal document that stipulates the specific tasks, responsibilities, deadlines, and resources necessary for incorporating Ouroboros Peras into the Cardano ecosystem. This indicates that the protocol is advancing from theoretical research to actionable implementation.
Cardano Advances with Ouroboros Peras
Ouroboros Peras enhances the existing Ouroboros Praos protocol by adding a voting layer aimed at achieving quicker transaction settlements. According to the project’s GitHub page, it is stated that: “We propose Ouroboros Peras as an upgrade to the Ouroboros Praos protocol, featuring a voting layer for rapid settlements. It is adaptively secured, supports dynamic participation, and incorporates self-healing functions.”
The primary goal of Ouroboros Peras is to improve the block settlement process, which is probabilistic in the current Ouroboros Praos model. As the blockchain grows, the chance of a Cardano block being reversed decreases exponentially. However, this can result in extended waiting times for a transaction to be marked as settled, which poses challenges for applications needing immediate confirmations.
Peras introduces a system that allows blocks to receive a “boost” from a majority vote, significantly lowering the risk of these blocks and previous blocks being reversed. This feature is crucial for high-demand scenarios, such as partnerships, bridges, and centralized exchanges that require multiple confirmations before a transaction is finalized.
This protocol is designed to be adaptively secure, accommodating dynamic participation while also integrating self-healing properties. It remains effective even when adversaries possess up to a quarter of the network stake. If adversaries inhibit voting quorums, the protocol reverts to a Praos-like mode, entering a “cool-down period” until the chain stabilizes and recovers its quality and commonality.
In practical terms, under suitable settings for the Peras protocol, blocks can be confirmed as settled or reversed within a mere two minutes, demonstrating high certainty. This immediate settlement ability is vital for scenarios where parties can observe the ledger for a set duration to verify transaction completeness.
Introducing Ouroboros Leios
Building on the progress made with Ouroboros Peras, Hoskinson indicated that the development team is concentrating all efforts on Ouroboros Leios, which has 6.8 FTEs dedicated to fast-paced innovation.
Ouroboros Leios is a new protocol within the Ouroboros framework, currently in its experimental stage. Its development seeks to substantially enhance data and CPU processing throughput while preserving or improving the security features of earlier Ouroboros versions.
Currently, the existing Ouroboros protocols, such as Praos and Genesis, face throughput limitations due to the interconnected data and communication processes in the distributed algorithm. Leios aims to address these challenges by redesigning the algorithm to lessen these dependencies, allowing for greater data throughput and more efficient CPU operations.
Moreover, Leios opens avenues for integrating modern features into the Cardano blockchain, including tiered transaction fees linked to service priority and quicker chain synchronization by removing the need to process every smart contract during synchronization.
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