Key Takeaways of Canton Network
- Canton Network emerges as a next-generation layer-1 blockchain, challenging established platforms like Ethereum and Solana, aiming to cater to institutional needs.
- Unlike many crypto projects, Canton Network avoided an initial coin offering (ICO) and token pre-mine, focusing on long-term, sustainable growth and institutional utility.
- The network is designed for secure, interoperable, and privacy-preserving transactions, targeting real-world asset tokenization, trading, and settlement.
- Canton Network raised $135 million in funding to accelerate ecosystem development and RWA tokenization.
- The focus on privacy allows information sharing on a need-to-know basis, aligning with regulatory requirements for financial institutions.
The blockchain space boasts numerous successful smart contract protocols, making it highly competitive for newcomers. Canton Network is a new layer-1 blockchain aiming to attract users and capital from leading platforms like Ethereum and Solana.
Alongside SUI and Aptos, Canton Network’s rise questions whether the blockchain market is oversaturated.
The rise of @CantonNetwork may seem fast, but it’s been a decade in the making. A decade of learning from the mistakes of others…@gazza_jenks and I chat with the co-founder and CEO of Digital Asset, @YuvalRooz, to hear the origin story of Canton.https://t.co/6koyyOsnht
— Robert Baggs (@rkbaggs) November 24, 2025
Yuval Rooz, co-founder of Digital Asset, shared the backstory of the Canton Network, emphasizing their decision to forgo an initial coin offering (ICO) during its decade-long development. The network was designed with financial institutions in mind prioritizing long-term sustainability and institutional utility.
📍 Insight: The decision to avoid an ICO reflects a strategic focus on institutional adoption rather than short-term speculative gains, potentially differentiating Canton Network from other layer-1 blockchains.
“Our thesis was focused on serving large-scale institutions. We’ve been very patient. We refused to do an ICO. We refuse to do a token pre-mine. We’ve really thought about the tokenomics,” Rooz stated.
The Canton Network aims to facilitate secure, interoperable, and privacy-preserving transactions for financial institutions. Digital Asset describes it as a ‘network of networks’ designed for real-world asset (RWA) tokenization, trading, and settlement.
Canton Network’s Focus on Institutional Adoption
In 2025, Canton Network gained significant attention when Digital Asset secured $135 million in funding to advance the Canton ecosystem and lead RWA tokenization on the protocol. Following this, biotech company Tharimmune invested $540 million to establish a Canton Coin (CC) digital asset treasury aiming to acquire and stake CC tokens as a super validator.
✅ Tip: Real-world asset (RWA) tokenization is gaining traction as a way to bring traditional assets onto the blockchain, potentially unlocking new liquidity and efficiency in financial markets. Canton Network’s focus on this area could be a key driver of its future growth.
Digital Asset took a deliberate approach to developing and launching Canton Network. A permissioned chain was launched in 2020 to assess its performance and gather user feedback:
“It took about four years to build maybe the first version of the ledger and then it took another two to three years to get to a point where we were kind of comfortable to launch it in a permissionless manner.”
How Canton Network Prioritizes Privacy
Rooz highlighted that the developers learned from the launches of other layer-1 protocols and the initial challenges faced by established platforms like Ethereum. A key lesson was the difficulty of making changes to a public network once it’s live and has a community of builders relying on it.
“Here’s the challenge I think that people underappreciate. Once you launch a public network and there are a lot of builders that run in production, it’s extremely hard to change it later. I think it will be extremely hard for public permissionless chains to bolt on privacy in a way that works as an afterthought without really creating a massive amount of pain to their community,” Rooz said.
Privacy has become a major theme in the cryptocurrency space. Rooz noted the increasing recognition of the importance of privacy in communications and transactions, despite it not always being a priority in the past.
⚡ Key Point: Privacy features are becoming increasingly important in blockchain technology, especially as institutions become more involved. Protocols like Canton Network that prioritize privacy from the outset may have a competitive advantage.
“I can tell you that every time we talked to crypto native folks over the last decade, and we said that privacy is a must-have, they told us, ‘you don’t understand crypto.’ The whole idea of crypto is not to have privacy,” Rooz said.
The Digital Asset CEO explained that privacy comes in various forms. Zero-knowledge proof cryptography, used by both Zcash and Canton, emphasizes anonymity. From a regulatory standpoint, financial institutions and authorities need to monitor activity for compliance with KYC (Know Your Customer) and AML (Anti-Money Laundering) standards.
“I guess what Canton does that is different than Zcash is that the privacy model of Canton is the ability to share information on a need-to-know basis. Meaning, if you are a regulator, you would be able to go to an issuer of a stablecoin and say, ‘hey, I want to see all of Yuval’s activity,’ which is different than anonymity.”
📊 Analysis: Canton Network’s privacy model, which allows for selective disclosure of information, could be more palatable to regulators and financial institutions compared to fully anonymous systems.
Digital Asset has secured backing from major players in the global financial sector, including BNP Paribas, Circle Ventures, Citadel Securities, the Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation (DTCC), and Goldman Sachs, all of whom invested in its 2025 funding round.
Frequently Asked Questions about Canton Network
What is the Canton Network?
Canton Network is a next-generation layer-1 blockchain designed for financial institutions. It focuses on secure, interoperable, and privacy-preserving transactions, particularly in the realm of real-world asset (RWA) tokenization, trading, and settlement.
How does Canton Network differ from other blockchains like Ethereum and Solana?
Canton Network distinguishes itself by targeting institutional adoption and prioritizing privacy features that allow for selective information sharing. Unlike many crypto projects, it avoided an ICO and token pre-mine, focusing on long-term sustainability.
What is real-world asset (RWA) tokenization, and why is it important for Canton Network?
Real-world asset (RWA) tokenization involves representing physical assets like commodities, real estate, or financial instruments as digital tokens on a blockchain. It is important for Canton Network because it allows the network to bring traditional assets onto the blockchain, potentially unlocking new liquidity and efficiency in financial markets.
How does Canton Network handle privacy and regulatory compliance?
Canton Network’s privacy model enables information sharing on a need-to-know basis, allowing regulators to access necessary data while maintaining user privacy. This approach aligns with KYC (Know Your Customer) and AML (Anti-Money Laundering) standards, making it suitable for financial institutions.
What’s Next for Canton Network?
Canton Network’s strategic focus on institutional adoption, RWA tokenization, and regulatory-friendly privacy features positions it as a significant player in the evolving blockchain space. Its success will depend on its ability to attract and retain institutional partners, further develop its ecosystem, and navigate the complex regulatory landscape.
With substantial funding and backing from major financial institutions, Canton Network has a solid foundation for future growth. Its deliberate approach to development and emphasis on learning from the mistakes of others could prove beneficial as it seeks to carve out its niche in the competitive blockchain market.
