Q&A - We Answer the Most Frequently Asked Questions About Canton Network

As interest in the Canton Network accelerates across institutional finance and the broader fintech ecosystem, more organizations are looking to understand its unique approach to privacy, composability, and cross-ledger synchronization.

At VirtusLab, we have worked hand in hand with Digital Asset, the company behind Canton, for over five years as a technology partner. We help engineer and scale the underlying infrastructure driving Canton. Drawing on our deep hands-on experience, we've put together this Q&A to answer the most frequently asked questions about the Canton Network.

What is the Canton Network and how does it work?

Canton is a "network of networks" for regulated financial institutions, built by Digital Asset on its Daml smart-contract language. Instead of one global chain that everyone shares, Canton lets each participant run its own sub-network (a "domain") with its own nodes, while a shared synchronization layer – the Global Synchronizer – coordinates transactions that span multiple parties.

Key mechanics:

• Application composability without a shared ledger. Each institution keeps its own ledger and only sees the data it's entitled to. When a transaction involves several parties (e.g., a bond settling against cash), Canton's atomic-commit protocol synchronizes just those participants – the rest of the network never sees the transaction.
• Privacy by sub-transaction. Data is shared on a strict need-to-know basis: each party receives only the fragment of the transaction it participates in, unlike public chains where all validators see everything.
• Atomic cross-domain settlement. Two assets living on different Canton domains can settle atomically (delivery-versus-payment) through the synchronizer, eliminating counterparty risk without a central intermediary.
• Decentralized governance. The Global Synchronizer is operated by multiple independent super-validators and governed through the Global Synchronizer Foundation; Canton Coin is the native utility token used to pay synchronizer fees.

Learn more by reading our article: Canton Network Through a Distributed Systems Lens.

Is the Canton Network a blockchain?

Yes and no! It's blockchain-derived, but deliberately unlike a classic one.

Canton uses core blockchain concepts: cryptographically signed transactions, smart contracts (Daml), Byzantine-fault-tolerant consensus on its synchronizers, and atomic settlement guarantees. In that sense it belongs to the DLT family.

But it breaks from the traditional blockchain model in fundamental ways:

• No single global ledger. There is no one chain that every node stores. Each participant holds only its own slice of state – the contracts it's a party to. The "ledger" is a virtual, distributed concept stitched together by the synchronization protocol.
• No global block production. Transactions aren't batched into public blocks validated by everyone; they're committed atomically among the affected participants only.
• Validators don't see transaction contents. Synchronizers order encrypted messages without reading them – the opposite of public chains, where validation requires full transparency.

How does Canton Network benefit financial institutions?

• Privacy that satisfies regulators. Transaction data is visible only to the parties involved – not to validators or other network members. This lets banks meet confidentiality, data-residency, and bank-secrecy obligations that rule out most public chains.
• Atomic settlement, less counterparty risk. Delivery-versus-payment and multi-leg trades settle atomically – either every leg completes or none does. This removes settlement risk and the need for reconciliation between counterparties.
• Capital and cost efficiency. Instant, atomic settlement shortens settlement cycles, freeing collateral and reducing margin requirements – a major driver behind intraday repo platforms on Canton.
• Control without isolation. Each institution runs its own infrastructure, sets its own permissioning, and chooses which applications to connect to – while still being able to transact with the whole network. No vendor lock-in to a single chain operator.
• Composability of regulated assets. Tokenized bonds, funds, cash, and collateral from different providers can interoperate in one transaction, enabling new products (collateral mobility, tokenized MMFs as margin) that siloed systems can't support.
• Institutional-grade governance. The network is operated and governed by established financial players rather than anonymous validators, which fits existing risk and compliance frameworks.

What are the main features of the Canton Network for secure communications?

These features are:

• Need-to-know data distribution. The protocol's core security feature: each participant receives only the sub-transaction it's a party to. Confidential data never leaves the nodes of the involved parties, so there is no global broadcast of transaction contents.
• End-to-end encryption through synchronizers. Messages routed via a synchronizer are encrypted; the synchronizer orders and timestamps them but cannot read their contents. Even infrastructure operators are blind to business data.
• Cryptographic authentication and signatures. Every party is identified by cryptographic keys; all transactions are signed, giving non-repudiation and verifiable authorization for each action on a contract.
• Sub-transaction privacy with verifiability. Counterparties can cryptographically verify that the parts of a transaction they see are consistent and authorized, without seeing the rest. This enables trust between parties that don't reveal their books to each other.
• Domain-level isolation. Each Canton domain (sub-network) has its own trust boundary and permissioning; a compromise or outage in one domain doesn't expose data in others.
• Auditability without exposure. Regulators or auditors can be granted observer rights to specific contracts, providing oversight without opening the entire ledger.

Who runs the Canton Network?

There is no single entity; it's deliberately decentralized across several layers:

• Digital Asset created the technology (the Canton protocol and Daml language) and remains its main developer, but does not control the network.
• The Global Synchronizer – the shared interoperability backbone – is operated by a group of independent super validators (around 30 organizations, including companies like Broadridge, Copper, Cumberland, Deutsche Börse Group, and Global Payments). No single operator can censor or control it; changes require distributed agreement.
• The Global Synchronizer Foundation (GSF), hosted under the Linux Foundation's decentralized-trust umbrella, provides neutral governance. It coordinates upgrades, policies, and tokenomics (Canton Coin) among members.
• Individual participants (banks, exchanges, asset managers) run their own validator nodes and private domains, keeping full control over their own infrastructure, data, and applications.

Does the Canton Network have a token?

Yes, Canton Coin (CC), the network's native utility token, launched in 2024 alongside the Global Synchronizer.

Key points to know about CC:

• Purpose: it pays for traffic on the Global Synchronizer – applications pay fees in Canton Coin when they use the shared synchronization layer for cross-domain transactions.
• Rewards model: super validators and validators earn newly minted CC for operating infrastructure, and application providers earn rewards for driving traffic — a "utility-first" issuance model rather than a speculative pre-mine.
• Fee mechanics: fees are denominated in USD but paid in CC (burned at payment), which decouples the cost of using the network from token price volatility.
• Not required everywhere: institutions can run private Canton domains without touching the token at all – CC is only needed for the shared Global Synchronizer. Many regulated participants interact with it indirectly or through fee arrangements.
• Tradability: Canton Coin is transferable and has become tradable on venues over time, but its design intent is network utility, not a payment currency.

Which companies specialise in Canton Network deployment and offer enterprise solutions compatible with the system?

As the ecosystem around the Canton Network grows, a strong network of consultancies, systems integrators, and technology partners has emerged to help institutions deploy, integrate, and scale Canton-compatible solutions.

According to Digital Asset's ecosystem partner network, several leading global technology and consulting firms specialize in supporting institutions on their Canton journey:

• Global Consultancies & Advisory Firms: Top-tier global firms such as Deloitte, Accenture, EY, Capgemini, PwC, BCG, Oliver Wyman, IBM, and Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) offer strategic consulting, risk, and broad enterprise transformation services for institutions looking to adopt Canton and Daml-based infrastructure.
• Specialized Systems Integrators: Technology firms like GFT, IntellectEU, Moonsong Labs, Avro, and Obsidian Systems provide targeted integration, software development, and deployment services tailored to capital markets and Web3 infrastructure.

While many enterprise partners offer high-level consulting or general integration services, VirtusLab occupies a unique position in the Canton Network ecosystem.

Having worked closely alongside Digital Asset for over five years, VirtusLab isn't just an integrator—we have actively contributed to building and engineering the underlying Canton architecture itself. Because our engineers know the core protocol inside and out, we provide a level of deep technical capability that goes far beyond traditional integration:

• End-to-End Node Setup & Infrastructure: We configure, deploy, and optimize Canton nodes, ensuring enterprise-grade scalability, security, and seamless operation within existing cloud or hybrid environments.
• Complex Daml Smart Contract Engineering: Leveraging hands-on experience with Daml, we design and build privacy-first, sub-transaction-aware smart contracts that handle complex institutional workflows.
• Seamless Legacy Integration: We connect internal core banking systems, risk management engines, and custodians directly to the Canton Network, bridging legacy financial rails with next-generation blockchain infrastructure safely and reliably.

How can I join the Canton Network as a service provider?

There are several entry paths depending on what you want to offer:

1. Run a validator node. The basic entry point is to download the open-source Canton software (or use a managed provider), stand up a validator, and connect it to the Global Synchronizer through an existing super validator sponsor. This lets you hold assets, transact, and earn validator rewards in Canton Coin.

2. Build and operate an application. Develop your service (custody, tokenization, settlement, data services) as a Daml application, deploy it on your own participant node or domain, and connect it to the Global Synchronizer so other network members can use it. App providers earn CC rewards proportional to the traffic they generate.

3. Become a super validator. The heaviest commitment is to operate part of the Global Synchronizer itself. This requires approval by the existing super validator group and Global Synchronizer Foundation, meeting infrastructure/uptime standards, and typically an established institutional profile.

4. Partner with Digital Asset or a node-as-a-service provider. Firms like Copper, Broadridge, or cloud-hosted node operators offer managed onboarding if you don't want to run infrastructure yourself. You can also contact us :)

What is Canton Network's Daml? What does Daml stand for?

Daml is a language for writing smart contracts that run on a shared ledger between multiple parties. It was created by Digital Asset, a New York-based technology company founded in 2014 that builds distributed-ledger infrastructure for banks, insurers, exchanges, and other regulated institutions. The same company develops Canton Network – the ledger Daml is designed to run on – built for regulated, multi-party workflows.

Daml runs on a ledger (Canton Network) that enforces two rules:

• Only parties named on a contract can see it.
• Only parties named on a contract can change it.

Contracts are immutable. A state change archives the old contract and creates a new one. Every change has explicit authorization.

Read more about Daml smart contracts.

What is the primary use case for Daml in enterprise software development?

Daml's primary use case is building multi-party workflows: applications where several independent organizations must act on shared business processes without trusting a central operator or reconciling separate databases.

Which companies do specialize in Daml smart contract solutions?

While many software development agencies are beginning to adopt Daml to keep up with the growth of the Canton Network, VirtusLab offers a level of specialization and expertise in Daml smart contracts that stands in a class of its own.

Depending on your organization's maturity and internal resources, VirtusLab offers flexible service models to take your application from architecture to production:

• Dedicated Daml Development Teams (Full-Lifecycle Support): For enterprise projects requiring end-to-end development, VirtusLab equips you with a complete, cross-functional engineering team. This includes Solution Architects, Daml & Backend Engineers, Frontend Developers, DevOps Engineers, Business Analysts, QA Specialists, and Security Engineers. Engagements can be structured as Team Augmentation to backfill key technical roles, a Fixed-Scope Project, or a long-term Product Retainer.
• Daml/Canton MVP Squad (Rapid 8–12 Week Execution): Designed for institutions looking to validate a proof-of-concept or launch a pilot quickly, our lean MVP Squad delivers a working, testable product in just 8 to 12 weeks. Powered by a dedicated Daml Architect, 2–3 Daml/backend engineers, frontend capability, QA, and DevOps, the squad delivers production-ready smart contracts, integration APIs, a functional user interface, full test coverage, complete technical documentation, and a live stakeholder demo.

Whether you need specialized Daml engineers to augment your in-house talent or a turn-key squad to build an end-to-end MVP, VirtusLab provides the exact technical muscle required to turn your Canton Network roadmap into production software.