Cardano (ADA) founder Charles Hoskinson has just announced a major upgrade that has piqued the interest of the ADA community and outsiders alike. The upgrade would see Cardano pivoting heavily into the AI crypto space – in a long-awaited boost to Cardano price.
This new update introduces a test version of the Leios protocol, which is a key part of Cardano’s 2025 roadmap. Its core aim is to improve network transaction speeds and scalability dramatically.
As part of the Leios Research agenda, we are going to build a testnet running the protocol at the fastest possible speeds. We'll populate it with a with thousands of AI agents to trade amongst each other.
Any Cardano DApps want to sign up to deploy on Face Melting Net? FMN
— Charles Hoskinson (@IOHK_Charles) May 2, 2025
Hoskinson Jumping On The AI Crypto Bandwagon With Latest Cardano Upgrade
The standout part of the Cardano founder’s May 2 announcement was his declaration that “We’ll populate it (Cardano) with thousands of AI agents to trade amongst each other.”
In addition to his Leois testnet statement, Hoskinson hilariously responded to a user who asked “Is Leios like Cardano on Snek Energy?” with “Leios is like injecting your dick with super viagra and Brazilian wandering spider venom. Its going to be a hard night.”
Cardano moving into the AI agent space is an interesting pivot and one that could provide a much-needed boost in the arm for the often overlooked L1 network.
If the Leios protocol delivers what Hoskinson is promising, including the hard nights, Cardano could finally achieve the network activity it has promised for so long.
Faster transactions would make it more competitive in areas like DeFi and gaming, while the AI crypto integration shows Cardano is moving with the times by adopting the revolutionary tech.
Still, the big story here is Cardano’s effort to practically blend blockchain with AI. If successful, it could mark a turning point not just for the network but for how emerging technologies shape the future of decentralized platforms.
Cardano Price Action Still Looking Shaky, But Bull Signals Are Beginning To Emerge
The bullish AI crypto pivot for Cardano hasn’t helped ADA in the past few days. Since the announcement last Friday, ADA is down around 8%, dropping from $0.69 to its current price of $0.64.
Even on a longer timeframe, the 30d chart shows ADA is barely above water, up only 1.8% while many of its competitors are up significantly more. In the same time, SOL is up 19%, SUI +38% and LINK +6%.
The only major cap token in a similar boat to ADA from a price action perspective is ETH. Ethereum is down 2% in the past 30 days, and sharing that accolade with such a poorly performing asset as ETH is not a great look.
From a technical standpoint, ADA is holding firm above key support levels and showing early signs of strength. Indicators like the MACD are flashing bullish signals, though the relatively low trading volume suggests investors are still cautious.
If these bullish signals lead to a breakout, a short-term spike toward $0.76 is on the card,s with $1 the mid-term level that ADA needs to tackle.
Currently, according to CoinGecko, ADA is the ninth-largest cryptocurrency by market cap. Its market cap is $23 billion, and its 24-hour trading volume is just shy of $560 million.
BONUS: Mind of Pepe (MIND) Closing In On $9m Presale Funding As Its AI Agent Goes Live In 4 Days
MIND of Pepe AI agent is coming to X — May 10th 🔥
We’re proud to announce that MIND of Pepe, our autonomous AI agent, goes live on May 10th.
This isn’t a trading bot. MIND is a purpose-built intelligence system that ingests and cross-validates real-time data from across the… pic.twitter.com/rEuMsWKLu8
— MIND of Pepe (@MINDofPepe) April 23, 2025
Regarding AI crypto agents, MIND of Pepe (MIND) is launching its revolutionary agent in 4 days, on May 10. It is one of the most highly anticipated crypto launches this year, reflected in the nearly $9m presale funding already secured for MIND.
A fresh influx of capital has been flowing into this presale since the team announced that the MIND presale will conclude at the end of May.
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Put simply, MIND is a self-evolving AI agent designed to monitor social platforms like X for market sentiment, on-chain wallet activity, and token launches while interacting directly with dApps to capitalize on emerging trends.
This has fast become one of the biggest presale launches of 2025, owing to the insane utility on offer for MIND holders. Holders will receive priority access to early insights, first-mover advantage in a fast-moving ecosystem, and direct exposure to an AI system optimized for alpha detection.
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Cardano pivoting to AI agents with latest testnet upgrade
- Charles Hoskinson likens the Leios upgrade to injecting your dick with super viagra and Brazilian wandering spider venom
- ADA is down on the daily however some bullish signs are emerging, with a breakout on the cards
- MIND of Pepe launches its highly anticipated AI Agent in 4 days after securing $8.8m in presale funding
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