Protocol Development Fund
Canton adoption is scaling quickly. The fund is designed to keep pace with continued growth and make Canton stronger for everyone.
What it supports
protocol + shared infrastructure: Funding supports core R&D, spanning development and performance work, security enhancements, audits, reference implementations, and tooling and infrastructure contributions. The fund will encourage open development, boost utility on the network, and strengthen Canton’s shared foundation.
Who should apply
builders, teams, researchers: Proposals are open to the community – foundation members and contributors can submit proposals immediately. Others can submit proposals with the endorsement from Canton Foundation members. In addition, the Canton Foundation Tech & Ops Committee may issue RFP-style calls for specific work. These RFPs will be made public with clear guidelines.
How funding works
milestones, review cycle at a high level: The Canton Foundation Tech & Ops Committee evaluates and approves proposals. Funding is allocated quarterly in Canton Coin and is tied to clear milestones. Submissions are evaluated on the scope and quality of the work.
Grant program
- Core R&D that advances the Canton protocol and network capabilities
- Developer tools that make it easier to build, test, and operate on Canton
- Security work and audits, including remediation and ongoing hardening
- Reference implementations other builders can reuse
- DeFi app liquidity seeding to support early utility where liquidity is a prerequisite
- Critical infrastructure the ecosystem relies on
Our ethos: we fund work that creates utility and value for network stakeholders at large. If your proposal delivers a common good for the Canton ecosystem, we will consider it.
Proposals are all assessed with input and feedback from the contributor group and then reviewed by the Tech & Ops Committee, considering:
- Overall perceived impact and value to the ecosystem and the network’s utility
- Impact and value to the network
- Alignment with protocol needs
- Scope and feasibility
- Quality and cost effectiveness
- Security and scalability implications
- Provisions for long-term maintenance
- Inclusion of GTM and distribution plans
The Tech & Ops Committee maintains a moderated, public mailing list for receiving proposal ideas and submissions. This is the primary entry point for contributor-initiated and external proposals.
Initial proposals can be submitted through the github repo by opening a new PR, and using the PR template to complete your proposal.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Who can apply?
- The Tech & Ops Committee may issue RFP-style calls for specific work
- Members of the tech & ops committee may submit proposals directly
- Anyone from the broader community may propose topics or projects, but have to find a champion within the Tech & Ops committee to guide them through the process.
Anyone. If you are not currently a member of the Foundation, a member of the Tech & Ops Committee may act as a champion to guide your proposal through the process. All proposals are evaluated on merit and alignment with the fund’s scope.
Can my startup apply?
Yes — provided the proposed work is designed to benefit the network as a whole and you have a champion from the Tech and Ops committee to guide you through the process.
Is funding retroactive?
Grants and funding are milestone-based, meaning funding is released when corresponding milestones in the grant proposal have been reached demonstrably.
How much funding is typical? Is there a cap?
Funding amounts vary by scope and impact. There is no fixed cap, but funding is allocated within a quarterly budget approved by the Foundation board, informed by the Finance Committee.
What currency are grants paid in?
Funding is denominated and paid in Canton Coin. For projects expected to run six months or less, milestones are typically fixed in Canton Coin terms. Full details can be found in CIP-100.
How are milestones evaluated?
When a milestone is claimed:
- The Tech & Ops Committee evaluates it against the agreed acceptance criteria
- Technical milestones may be reviewed with input from the contributor group
- Continuation funding is voted on milestone by milestone
If milestones are not met or are disputed, funding may be paused, renegotiated, or halted.
What happens if a project fails?
The Tech & Ops committee can stop funding if milestones are not being met.
Is this a token incentive or liquidity program?
The fund supports projects that are for the common good of the network. In some cases, this may include some initial liquidity seeding. It is not a token incentive program.
How does this help decentralization?
By funding shared infrastructure and protocol work in the open, the fund reduces reliance on any single organization and broadens who contributes to Canton’s evolution over time, while maintaining high standards.
Why create a fund instead of a single Super Validator allocation?
The purpose of the fund is to enable the grant structures and sources that best align with what’s being funded. The development fund carves out a percentage from all network rewards at large, as all stakeholders of Canton are expected to benefit equally from the work done. And it enables much more flexible funding and grant structures than a Super Validator allocation.
Why is the Canton Foundation involved in defining such funding?
The work funded by the grant program is broadly work that is for the good of Canton Network stakeholders at large – work that advances the utility and value of the network for all involved. The Canton Foundation has a mandate to run open, neutral processes and governance for the network, including grants, RFPs, and audits – and to do so with representation from all network stakeholders. As such, the Canton Foundation is the natural place to govern the grants program.
How do I become a member of the Tech and Ops committee or core contributor group?
Becoming a member of the Canton Foundation enables you to participate directly in member committees and working groups, including the Tech & Ops committee, through the Canton Foundation’s governance structure.
Find out how to become a member at https://canton.foundation/join-the-foundation/
If you are already a member of the foundation, simply contact foundation staff via email or Slack to let them know your delegate to the tech and ops committee and they’ll help you onboard.
I thought Canton didn’t do grants – what changed?
The Global Syncrhonizer’s Super Validators approved this fund specifically to support shared contributions that benefit the entire network. This is about maintaining and improving the foundation everyone builds on, not picking winners.
The Canton Foundation does not subsidize applications today or fund growth initiatives from a central treasury or premine in the same way other networks structure their grants programs.
Where do the funds come from? How is it funded?
5% of the future emission of Canton Coin is being allocated to the fund, pro-rata across all reward streams (SV rewards, App Rewards and Validator Rewards), as established in CIP-0082. The funds are not pre-mined, taken from a treasury or retroactively allocated. This programmatic 5% allocation aims to create a durable, predictable funding source without the uncertainty of ad-hoc grants, market cycles, or a changing Super Validators.
Funding is administered by the Canton Foundation Tech & Ops Committee, with quarterly budgeting, milestone-based payouts, public reporting, and annual independent audit.
Where can I see the list of funded projects?
All projects will be publicly listed at: https://github.com/canton-foundation/canton-dev-fund
What kinds of contributions are eligible?
CIP-0082 states that the purpose of the fund is to support “core R&D, dev tools, security, audits, reference implementations, DeFi app(s) liquidity seeding, critical infra.” This can be interpreted broadly as anything considered a “common good” for the ecosystem.
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