Canton: everything you need to know about CC

What is Canton?

Canton is a blockchain network designed for use within the financial sector. It focuses on situations in which multiple parties execute transactions together but do not want or are not allowed to share all information with each other.

While many blockchains are fully public, Canton opts for a different approach. The network enables collaboration between various organizations while sensitive data can remain shielded. As a result, Canton is better suited for applications that must comply with strict regulations, such as financial markets and systems used by large institutions.

How does Canton work?

Canton enables different parties to jointly execute transactions on a single network without everyone automatically seeing all the details. In practice, this means that only the parties involved have access to relevant information, while the settlement is technically guaranteed.

Applications on Canton can be configured so that transactions only proceed if predefined conditions are met. Think of scenarios where delivery and payment must take place simultaneously, or where multiple parties must give approval at the same time. Canton ensures that this is coordinated and reliable, even when different organizations are involved.

The CC token

CC (Canton Coin) is the token used within the Canton network. The token plays a role in using the infrastructure and settling network activities.

Instead of a classic gas market with highly fluctuating fees, the fees within Canton are focused on predictability. The use of network services, such as messages and transactions, is settled in CC. This makes the token primarily an infrastructure token that keeps the network operational.

The token model is structured so that network usage and network contribution remain in balance. Activity on the network leads to consumption of CC, while participants who contribute to the network’s operation are rewarded for it.

The technology behind Canton

Canton’s technology is built around two core principles: privacy and joint settlement among multiple parties.

Instead of a single public ledger, Canton uses an approach in which transactions are only visible to the parties involved. At the same time, the interrelation between transactions is technically monitored to ensure the integrity of the network is maintained.

An important component of this architecture is a shared synchronization layer. This layer ensures that transactions between different applications and participants are correctly aligned. As a result, assets and data can be linked between parties without everything having to reside in a single public system.

Smart contracts on Canton are written in a language that makes it possible to embed privacy rules directly into the contract logic. The network then ensures that these rules are actually enforced during execution.

The Canton ecosystem

The Canton ecosystem focuses primarily on financial and institutional applications, including:

• tokenization of assets
• Settlement and post-trade processes
• Applications where privacy and collaboration come together
• network participants who contribute to infrastructure and validation

Canton thereby primarily serves as the underlying infrastructure on which various parties can build their own applications.

Benefits of Canton

• Privacy-focused: designed for applications where sensitive data must not be fully public
• Collaboration between parties: built for processes where multiple organizations need to work together
• Predictable costs: focuses on a clear and stable cost structure for business use

Disadvantages of Canton

• Strong institutional focus: focuses mainly on businesses and financial institutions, less on retail users
• More complex setup: the architecture is more extensive and therefore less accessible to beginners

Who are the founders of Canton?

Canton has been developed by Digital Asset, the company behind the Canton protocol and the broader technology surrounding it. The public infrastructure of the network is now supported by an independent governance structure via the Global Synchronizer Foundation, with support from the Linux Foundation. As a result, Canton is not intended to be a network that is permanently governed by a single central party.