Paris - Future of Cardano - April 2025
Introduction
A focused in-person workshop in Paris brought together 15–20 core contributors to strategically refine Cardano's direction toward 2026. Product demos highlighted the need for market validation. Key technical discussions centered on L1/L2 scalability (Leios), threat detection, and Decentralized Identity. Roadmap planning aligned the 2025–2026 vision with market adoption. SPO roles in Hydra/AVS were discussed, including a registry proposal. Intent-based transactions and Babel Fees were identified as critical UX improvements. Future workshops will prioritize geographic diversity.
Strategizing for Product Market Fit
The Future of Cardano Workshop, recently convened in Paris, brought together a diverse group of key stakeholders deeply committed to the sustained growth and global influence of the Cardano network. This important forum united the core architects and dedicated engineers who are meticulously constructing the platform's infrastructure, the stake pool operators who underpin its security and decentralization, and the visionary entrepreneurs and pioneering project leaders who are actively developing innovative applications and services within the Cardano ecosystem. The agenda facilitated a highly collaborative and strategically oriented environment, designed to foster a comprehensive exploration of the roadmap extending to 2026 and beyond, a showcase of emerging technological advancements, and the collective formulation of actionable market strategies aimed at broadening Cardano's adoption and real-world impact. The intimate size of the workshop fostered productive discussions and a strong sense of community.
Illuminating Innovation: Project Demonstrations and Market Validation
The workshop's morning sessions were dedicated to a series of insightful project demonstrations, providing a direct view into the ingenuity and problem-solving spirit prevalent within the Cardano community. These presentations went beyond mere technical exposition, engaging in a crucial dialogue about the real-world applicability and market viability of each solution.
Andamio: Fostering Ecosystem Vitality Through Contribution and Skill Recognition
The presentation by Gimba Labs on Andamio highlighted a thoughtful approach to a fundamental challenge in decentralized ecosystems: the effective onboarding and recognition of diverse contributions. Their platform aims to cultivate a dynamic and engaged community by transparently valuing and rewarding participation and skill development. The "learn to contribute to earn" model presents a compelling strategy for organic growth. The team also openly addressed pertinent challenges, such as the inherent complexity of blockchain for new users and the economic considerations surrounding NFT interactions – points that warrant careful strategic attention.
Checkpoint: Fortifying Cardano with Real-Time Threat Detection
Another compelling pitch focused on "Checkpoint," a system designed to enhance the security of the Cardano network through real-time threat detection. This initiative detailed a dashboard interface providing visibility into potential malicious activity, leveraging advanced Machine Learning and Large Language Model (LLM) analysis to identify threats across blockchain ecosystems. The system also incorporates Virtual Machine (VM) execution simulation for deeper threat analysis, aiming to proactively safeguard the network. Notably, the presentation highlighted that the technology behind Checkpoint involves collaboration with Cisco, with a promising initial demonstration showcasing the potential for future developments within Cardano. The exchange of ideas also touched upon potential synergies with other similar projects in the threat detection space, such as Xereberus, suggesting a collaborative approach to bolstering network security.
Burgermania TV: Engaging the Community Through Interactive Entertainment
Another intriguing presentation came from Burgermania TV (X Profile: https://x.com/BurgermaniaTV), outlining an innovative concept for an animated series where the community actively influences the content of new episodes through voting. This model proposes specific perks and mechanisms to empower viewers to shape the narrative and direction of the series, fostering a deeper connection between the creators and the audience through decentralized decision-making.
Beyond the Tech: Focusing on Scalability, Interoperability, and User-Centric Design
Subsequent discussions consistently returned to pivotal themes: the imperative for robust layer 2 scaling solutions, the strategic necessity of seamless interoperability with other blockchain networks, and the critical importance of enhancing the user experience (UX), particularly concerning wallet interactions and dApp usability. The underlying emphasis on decentralized identity (DID) as a cornerstone of trust and user empowerment was also notable and seen as a key building block for future applications and services. These conversations underscored a holistic approach to ecosystem development, recognizing that technological advancement must be coupled with usability, connectivity, and user control over their digital identities.
Bridging Innovation and Adoption: Product Market Fit Assessment
A defining characteristic of the project presentations was the explicit focus on product market fit. Presenters were compelled to articulate not only the technical specifications of their solutions but, more importantly, the demonstrable need for their products and their strategies for validating market demand. The ensuing question-and-answer sessions provided a valuable forum for critical analysis, with participants and facilitators engaging in thoughtful inquiry regarding target markets, competitive landscapes, and go-to-market strategies. This assessment process was instrumental in ensuring that the showcased innovations are grounded in real-world needs and have a viable path to adoption. The open discussion that followed, aimed at identifying key market opportunities within the Cardano ecosystem, fostered a collaborative environment for strategic brainstorming.
Envisioning the Future: Strategic Roadmap Planning for Market Resonance
The afternoon sessions shifted the workshop's focus towards a more strategic and forward-looking perspective, concentrating on the refinement of the ecosystem's vision and the collaborative planning of a roadmap designed to achieve significant market resonance and expand Cardano's user base.
The 2025 Vision: A Market-Aligned Trajectory
The presentation of the 2025 vision underscored a strategic alignment with discernible market opportunities. The key areas of focus and ongoing initiatives were explicitly framed in terms of their potential to drive market penetration and increase user adoption, signaling a deliberate effort to ensure that technological development is guided by market demands. The subsequent dialogue provided an opportunity for participants to offer insights and ask clarifying questions regarding the proposed strategies for market engagement.
Constructing the 2026 Roadmap: Building for Widespread Adoption
The interactive planning session for the 2026 roadmap fostered a collaborative environment for shaping the future direction of the Cardano ecosystem. Discussions centered on identifying emerging market trends and promising use cases that align with Cardano's strengths. The process of defining market-driven goals for 2026 emphasized a commitment to not only advancing the technology but also actively pursuing widespread adoption and tangible real-world impact.
Refining Strategic Direction: Feedback on Market Alignment
The open forum dedicated to feedback on the 2025 vision provided a crucial opportunity for critical evaluation, specifically focusing on the alignment of strategic objectives with actual market needs and the potential for achieving significant market success. Participants were encouraged to offer constructive criticism and suggest potential adjustments to enhance the vision's market relevance. A key aspect of this discussion involved identifying any gaps in the market data informing the vision document, highlighting the need for comprehensive and insightful market intelligence to guide future strategic decisions.
Leios: Exploring Layer 1 vs. Layer 2 Implementation
A significant part of the afternoon discussion focused on Leios and its potential role within the Cardano ecosystem. While its potential as a Layer 1 enhancement to increase throughput was acknowledged, several participants raised the question of whether implementing Leios as a Layer 2 solution might offer certain advantages. The rationale behind this consideration included the idea that operating Leios as an L2 could allow nodes with varying capacity or resource constraints to choose whether or not to run it. Furthermore, it was suggested that an L2 implementation might make it easier to manage and potentially 'ignore' Leios functionality when the increased throughput is not immediately required by the network. This perspective highlights the ongoing evaluation of the optimal architectural integration for Leios within the broader Cardano ecosystem.
Marketing Cardano: Defining Core Properties
A focused discussion on marketing strategies took place towards the end of the workshop, involving a dialogue about how to best position Cardano in the coming years. Participants considered the three main properties that Cardano should be known for. While "decentralization" is a core tenet, there was a suggestion to potentially subsume it under the broader umbrella of "security" for clearer marketing messaging. One participant proposed the key attributes of "Secure, Predictable, and Fast" as a concise and impactful way to classify Cardano in the future.
Advancing Cardano's Capabilities
Stake Pool Operator (SPO) Incentive Improvements and Evolving Roles
The workshop also addressed the vital role of Stake Pool Operators (SPOs) in maintaining the security and decentralization of the Cardano network. Recognizing their importance, discussions were held around potential improvements to the incentive structures that reward their contributions.
Furthermore, the workshop touched upon the evolving roles of SPOs within the expanding Cardano ecosystem. The emergence of Layer 2 solutions like Hydra and the framework for Actively Validated Services (AVS) for partner chains opens up new opportunities for SPO participation beyond solely validating Layer 1 transactions.
In this context, the idea of an SPO registry was discussed. This registry would potentially list SPOs who are willing and capable of operating heads in Layer 2 protocols like Hydra or acting as validators in partner chains built using the AVS framework. This would allow projects and the broader community to easily identify and engage with SPOs possessing the necessary expertise and infrastructure for these advanced roles. Such a registry could also inform future incentive mechanisms tailored to the responsibilities and resource requirements of these new SPO functions, further strengthening the ecosystem's scalability and interoperability.
Several suggestions for assessment regarding traditional SPO incentives were also highlighted, including the introduction of a minimum margin parameter that could be adjusted through governance, and modifications to the pledge-benefit curve (the 'a0' parameter). These discussions acknowledged the community's interest in exploring ways to further optimize SPO incentives for the continued health and resilience of the Cardano network, alongside these new avenues for SPO engagement.
Strategic Partnerships and Ecosystem Growth
A recurring theme throughout the workshop was the critical role of strategic partnerships in driving the adoption of Cardano and expanding its real-world impact. Participants emphasized the importance of actively seeking collaborations with organizations across various industries to develop and deploy Cardano-based solutions that address specific needs and use cases. These partnerships are seen as essential for reaching new user bases and demonstrating the tangible benefits of Cardano's technology in practical applications.
Layer 1 Enhancements: Scaling and Finality
Discussions around Leios centered on its potential to significantly increase transaction throughput through parallel block creation. A key trade-off explored was the increased complexity in consensus mechanisms and potential implications for SPO resource utilization in endorsing and processing multiple input blocks. The primary users who would benefit directly from increased L1 throughput are applications requiring high transaction volumes and users interacting with them. The impact on SPOs involves adapting to the new block propagation and processing model, potentially requiring adjustments to their infrastructure.
The exploration of Peras focused on accelerating transaction settlement times via SPO voting. Trade-offs discussed included increased network traffic due to voting and the need to achieve a sufficient voting quorum to ensure consistent fast finality without frequent fallbacks to slower probabilistic finality. Users would experience faster confirmation times, particularly beneficial for time-sensitive transactions and interactions with exchanges. SPOs would incur additional network overhead for voting, and the incentive mechanisms for participation in the Peras voting process would be crucial for its success.
Layer 2 Solutions: Scaling Applications
Hydra and Midgard were discussed as critical frameworks for enabling applications to scale effectively without placing excessive load directly on Layer 1. Hydra's potential for off-chain head protocols and Midgard's optimistic rollup approach were highlighted as key mechanisms for achieving high-throughput and low-cost transactions for specific use cases, thereby supporting ecosystem growth independently of immediate L1 scaling limitations.
Intent-Based Transactions: Efficiency and Security
Intent-based transactions (nested transactions) offer several key benefits, including the potential for "batcher-less" decentralized exchanges and significantly improved user onboarding through Babel Fees. Babel Fees would allow users to pay transaction fees using non-ADA native assets, abstracting away the current requirement of holding ADA to interact with the Cardano network. This could lower the barrier to entry for new users and enhance the usability of dApps. A potential trade-off involves increased complexity in transaction construction and the need for robust tooling to support their creation and interpretation. Users could experience more seamless interactions with complex protocols and the ability to transact without initially acquiring ADA. For security, as highlighted by "Checkpoint," intents allow for pre-validation, potentially reducing malicious transactions but introducing a dependency on the Checkpoint system or similar validators. The trade-off here is the balance between proactive security and potential centralization or reliance on specific validation services.
These advancements – L1 enhancements for base layer performance, L2 solutions for application scaling, and intent-based transactions for both efficiency and security – represent critical steps in realizing Cardano's vision for a robust and scalable foundation for a decentralized global economy.
One key point identified by the participants was the importance of a split mempool so nested transactions do not clog the ability to pass around completed transactions. It was discussed that this could be done either as part of the node or a separate opt-in service to accept and aggregate nested transactions.
Conclusion: A Collaborative and Globally Inclusive Path to Market-Driven Advancement
The Cardano Vision Workshop in Paris served as a vital and productive forum for strategic deliberation and collaborative planning, setting a clear direction for the next phase of Cardano's evolution. The energy and focused discussions underscored the immense value of bringing together key stakeholders in person. The insights and innovative ideas generated throughout the day highlighted the critical importance of aligning technological development with demonstrable market needs, enhancing user experience, and fostering strategic partnerships. The positive feedback from participants, expressing enthusiasm for the workshop format and its impact, further validates the importance of such in-person collaborations, particularly in focused groups of around 15-20 individuals, which appeared to be an optimal size for fostering productive and engaging discussions.
Moving forward, the workshop also underscored the significance of fostering geographical diversity in these crucial conversations. Engaging participants from various regions around the world can bring a wider range of perspectives, insights into diverse market needs, and contributions that are truly reflective of a global ecosystem. Holding similar in-person events in different locations worldwide would offer invaluable opportunities to tap into regional expertise, build stronger local communities, and tailor strategies to specific market dynamics. This global approach would further strengthen the collaborative spirit and ensure that Cardano's advancement is informed by a truly worldwide perspective, ultimately accelerating its journey towards widespread global adoption and the realization of its full potential.