Hoskinson is writing a new Cardano language: what it would do

Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson says he is writing a new programming language for the network himself. "I'm actually personally developing a programming language for Cardano," he posted on X on Sunday, according to CoinDesk. His partner on the project is Lucas Rosa, a software engineer at Input Output Global (IOG) who co-created Aiken. It is unusual for the founder of a network this size to write core developer tools personally, which is part of why the post drew attention.

The three building blocks

Hoskinson said the language would support three tools. Here is what each means in plain terms.

Transaction intents

An intent lets a user state the outcome they want and leave the steps to the app. A trader could say "swap token A for token B, but only if I get at least this price" without spelling out the route. Intents are spreading across crypto; Zcash developers, for example, are working on keeping intent-based swaps private.

Proof-carrying data

This attaches cryptographic evidence to a piece of data showing it follows certain rules. Another app can check that evidence without redoing all the work behind it, which makes it easier to pass trusted information between services.

Groth16 proofs

Groth16 is a widely used zero-knowledge proof system. It produces very small proofs that computers can check quickly, and it can show that a condition was met without revealing the private data behind it.

What it could enable

Combined, these would let developers build apps that coordinate trades, check complex conditions and share verified data between services, with Cardano itself only checking a small proof at the end. That is the kind of plumbing that more advanced DeFi apps rely on.

How it fits with Cardano's existing languages

• Plutus: Cardano's original smart contract platform, built on the Haskell language.
• Aiken: a newer, purpose-built language that Rosa co-created and many Cardano developers now use.
• Compact: the language of Midnight, IOG's privacy-focused blockchain, for apps that handle confidential data.

What we don't know yet

Hoskinson has not shared a name for the language, any public code, or a date when developers can start using it. Until code appears, this is a stated plan rather than a product.