Canton Improvement Proposals (CIPs)

Introduction to the CIP process for Canton Network standards and governance

Canton Improvement Proposals (CIPs) are the formal mechanism for proposing changes, standards, and improvements to Canton Network.

What are CIPs?

CIPs are design documents providing information to the Canton community, describing new features, processes, or standards for Canton Network.

CIP Type	Purpose
Standards Track	Technical specifications and standards
Process	Governance and operational procedures
Informational	General guidelines and information

Why CIPs Matter

CIPs ensure that:

• Changes are discussed openly before implementation
• Standards enable interoperability
• The community has input on network evolution
• Decisions are voted on and then documented for reference

Key CIPs

CIP-0056: Canton Network Token Standard

The token standard defines interfaces for fungible tokens on Canton Network.

Aspect	Specification
Purpose	Standardize token operations
APIs	Token Metadata, Holding, TransferInstruction, Allocation, AllocationRequest, AllocationInstruction
Interoperability	Wallet and app compatibility

GitHub: CIP-0056

Key features:

• Standard holding representation
• Consistent transfer semantics
• Pre-approval support for advanced workflows
• Allocation patterns for multi-step transfers

CIP Process

Lifecycle

Stage	Description
Draft	Initial proposal for discussion
Review	Community review and feedback
Accepted	Approved for implementation
Final	Implemented and stable
Rejected	Not accepted (with rationale)

Who Can Propose

CIPs can be proposed by:

• Super Validators
• Community members
• Development teams
• Ecosystem participants

Implementing CIPs

For Application Developers

When building applications, consider relevant CIPs:

Situation	Action
Creating tokens	Implement CIP-0056 interfaces
Wallet integration	Support standard interfaces
Interoperability	Follow published standards

Example: Token Standard Implementation

-- Implement CIP-0056 holding interface
template MyToken
  with
    issuer : Party
    holder : Party
    amount : Decimal
  where
    signatory issuer
    observer holder

    -- Standard interface implementation
    interface instance Holding.I for MyToken where
      view = Holding.View with ...

Finding CIPs

Resource	Content
GitHub Repository	All CIP documents
canton.foundation	Governance information
Community channels	Discussion and updates

Contributing to CIPs

To propose or contribute to CIPs:

1. Review existing CIPs to understand the format
2. Discuss informally in community channels
3. Write a draft following the CIP template
4. Submit for review via the appropriate process
5. Iterate based on feedback

Next Steps

Token Standard

Implement the Canton Token Standard.

CIP Repository

Browse all CIPs on GitHub.