Charles Hoskinson, founder of the Cardano blockchain, has revealed he is personally developing a new programming language tailored for the network. The language is designed to support both intents and proof-carrying data through Groth16 proofs, a combination he described as the first of its kind.

The disclosure came in response to a community question about the distinctive strengths of a highly decentralized blockchain such as Cardano for varied applications. Hoskinson indicated the effort aims to expand the platform’s technical flexibility for complex use cases while reinforcing its security and privacy foundations.

Core Technical Features

The planned language will allow developers to specify the intended purpose of a transaction and attach cryptographic verification of that purpose in a single construct. This integration relies on Groth16, a succinct non-interactive zero-knowledge proof system widely used in privacy-oriented blockchains.

Groth16 enables a party to demonstrate knowledge of certain information without disclosing the underlying data. The same system underpins privacy mechanisms in networks such as Zcash. When combined with proof-carrying data, cryptographic proofs travel alongside the data itself, permitting later parties to confirm facts about origin or transformation without relying on intermediate trust.

Hoskinson provided no name for the language, no detailed technical specifications, and no timeline for availability to developers.

Connection to Midnight Project

In a separate comment, Hoskinson referred to another initiative he is pursuing, stating that only the Midnight project can deliver the concept to the cryptocurrency sector. He described the work as the potential magnum opus of his career and suggested it could resolve many of the industry’s longstanding problems.

Midnight is Cardano’s privacy-focused sidechain. At present it remains unclear whether the new programming language forms part of that effort or stands as an independent development.

Hoskinson’s Evolving Views on Language Choice

Cardano’s original architecture was built in Haskell, selected for its mathematical rigor and capacity to produce highly reliable code. Hoskinson has long advocated for the language. In June 2022 he entered a public discussion between Elon Musk and Jack Dorsey on programming preferences and recommended Haskell as an alternative after Musk expressed support for C over C++.

Subsequent statements show a more measured stance. In May 2024 Hoskinson noted that he had seriously considered Clojure before settling on Haskell, citing the availability of Cloud Haskell together with supporting tools such as Liquid Haskell and Agda. In an April 2025 interview he said that, given the chance to restart Cardano’s development from scratch, he might select a different language.

The new language project therefore continues a long-standing interest in programming-language design while signaling a willingness to move beyond the original Haskell foundation for future Cardano tooling.

No further details on implementation progress or expected release have been released.