🌐 Canton Network Overview

Network Architecture

• Type: Public permissioned L1 blockchain
• Focus: Real-world asset tokenization for institutions
• Governance: Global Synchronizer Foundation (GSF)
• Labs: Digital Assets
• Token: Canton coin (not yet liquid, currently valued at $0.05 per TheTie Dashboard’s on-chain conversion rate)
• Explorers: https://www.cantonscan.com/ and https://explorer.canton.nodefortress.io/

Participant Types

Validators

• Generate rewards every 10 minutes through network validation
• Current count: ~200 (rapidly growing from 50)
• Revenue model: Token rewards per block
• Implementation complexity: Standard

Super Validators

• Higher reward tier with enhanced network responsibilities
• Current count: 13-25 participants
• Bitwave status: Approved super validator

Featured Apps

• Applications earning usage-based rewards
• Current count: 14
• Bitwave status: Approved featured app
• Revenue sharing: 10%-30% with clients

Featured Apps

💡

Here’s how Canton’s featured-app revenue-share model works in practice:

Key Takeaways:

• Featured-app pool is a fixed slice of Canton coin emissions.
• Operators earn a percentage of that pool share initially, then share 10–30 % back to users.
• Payouts are streamed on-chain via the billing utility and distributed either automatically or manually, depending on the app’s implementation.

1. Featured-App Reward Pool
   A portion of the total Canton coin emission is set aside for “featured apps.” Every 10 minutes (i.e. per block), rewards accrue into this pool based on app usage and transaction volume on the network .
2. App-Owner Earnings
   The owner or operator of a featured app (e.g. Bitwave, Cumberland) earns the full pool share allocated to that app. They receive these Canton coin payments via the Digital Asset “billing utility,” which locks user-owed funds in a smart contract and then streams them out in configurable intervals (e.g. every block or every 10 minutes) .
3. Revenue-Share Tiers
   Featured-app operators choose a revenue-share tier—typically 10 %, 20 %, or 30 %—to allocate back to their end-users or clients. Higher tiers require locking in a larger share but promise greater user incentives. For example, one app might lock in 30 % of its earned rewards, another only 10 % .
4. Distribution to End Users

• Auto-Distribution (e.g. Cumberland): Some operators (like Cumberland) have built their own DAML contracts to automatically distribute users’ portions at the end of each reward round .
• Manual Payout (others): In most cases today, the app owner calculates each user’s share off-chain and then issues payouts periodically.
• Client Onboarding & Configuration
  End users simply sign up with a featured app and select their desired package (which locks in the corresponding revenue-share tier). The app then handles streaming the locked funds, accruing rewards, and distributing the chosen percentage back to users for as long as they remain active clients .