Cardano co-founder Charles Hoskinson has emphatically denied rumors suggesting that the blockchain platform has abandoned its Hydra layer-2 scaling solution. In a post on X, Hoskinson slammed the circulating claims as "just pure FUD."

The speculation emerged after a YouTube channel, The Cryptoviser, uploaded a video on March 17 alleging that Cardano had "pivoted away from Hydra." This assertion was based on Hoskinson's recent announcement of an integration with Hyperledger Firefly, a scaling solution designed to help enterprises build and scale Web3 applications.

However, Hoskinson was quick to dispel these rumors, reassuring the Cardano community that the team remains fully committed to the Hydra project.

"The team has never been more productive and motivated, there is great community engagement and new papers on the way for enhancements to the protocol," Hoskinson stated in his X post, addressing his 980,000 followers.

Hydra, launched in May 2023, is a crucial component of Cardano's roadmap under the "Basho" phase, which focuses on scaling solutions. The layer-2 protocol aims to enhance the transaction processing capacity of the Cardano blockchain while reducing transaction costs.

This is not the first time Hoskinson has had to publicly defend Hydra against unfounded rumors. In October 2022, he released a video promoting Hydra's properties as a scaling solution for Cardano, refuting criticism regarding the network's throughput capabilities.

Hoskinson's latest comments come amidst what he describes as a "wave of FUD" surrounding Cardano's collaboration with digital ID platform World Mobile and its overall scaling roadmap.

"Man, it's raining FUD this weekend, and I'm not sure about the origin. I guess it's that time of the cycle where everyone freaks out about Cardano's potential and roadmap, so they throw a wave of FUD at us," Hoskinson lamented.

Despite the unfounded rumors, Cardano has been making steady progress in the decentralized finance (DeFi) space, with its total value locked (TVL) hitting an all-time high of $520 million on March 14, according to data from DefiLlama. However, the network still lags behind its competitors, such as Ethereum, Tron, BNB Smart Chain, and Solana, which collectively boast a TVL of $72 billion.

As Cardano continues to develop and implement its scaling solutions, the team remains focused on delivering on its roadmap and addressing any concerns or misconceptions that may arise along the way.