CIP-0097: Nasdaq Super Validator Participation

Abstract

This CIP proposes granting Nasdaq participation as a Super Validator (SV) with Weight 10. Given the strategic importance of Nasdaq to the Canton ecosystem, their inclusion will bring credibility, alignment with traditional financial infrastructure, and meaningful contributions to network governance and adoption.

This CIP establishes an umbrella, milestone-based program through which Nasdaq can receive SV Weight (up to 10) for initiatives that materially advance the Canton ecosystem.

Unlike other CIPs, this program contains confidential commitments to the ecosystem. Those commitments and milestones have been agreed with the Tokenomics and Accountability Committees and will be made available to the public when appropriate and as needed.

Total Earnable Weight: 10 (max)

Accrual Destination: Escrow, consistent with existing SV escrow mechanics.

Confidentiality: The Accountability Committee will review the milestones and inform SVs if they have been met.

Motivation

Nasdaq is one of the world’s most important financial institutions, operating at the center of global capital markets with a reputation for technological leadership, market integrity, and innovation. Best known for running the largest electronic equities exchange, Nasdaq provides the critical infrastructure that enables transparent price discovery, deep liquidity, and efficient capital formation for thousands of companies worldwide. Its platform has become synonymous with growth, entrepreneurship, and the public market ambitions of many of the most transformative companies of the past several decades.

Beyond trading, Nasdaq is a trusted partner to governments, regulators, exchanges, and market participants across the globe. Through its market technology, surveillance, and data businesses, Nasdaq powers a significant portion of the world’s financial market infrastructure, setting standards for resilience, fairness, and operational excellence. Its combination of scale, credibility, and continuous innovation positions Nasdaq not just as an exchange operator, but as a foundational institution underpinning the modern global financial system.

Deliverable & Milestones

The specific deliverables and milestones for Nasdaq have been agreed privately with the Canton Foundation’s Tokenomics and Accountability Committees.

Milestone Review Process: The Accountability Committee will confirm whether Nasdaq has successfully met each milestone.

Reward Mechanism: Upon confirmation, rewards associated with milestones will be released from escrow.

Confidentiality: Nasdaq’s specific commitments will not be made public until the Foundation and Nasdaq determine it is appropriate.

SV Reward Mechanics:

• An extraBeneficiary PartyID associated with the ‘escrowed’ Super Validator will be setup by the Foundation, or another SV node operator approved to provide SV rewards escrow services, with an SV Weight at the maximum earnable weight.

  • The Applicant is responsible for coordinating the process of setting up the escrowed weights with the Canton Foundation and the operator of the SV node.
  • The Applicant is responsible for all costs associated with the operation of the escrow SV
  • The escrow SV will NOT mint rewards on a block by block basis
  • All escrow SV rewards will go to the Unclaimed Rewards pool

• ⅔ of the Super Validator Operators will update their configurations to allow the escrowing SV node to host the full weight to be earned by the given Super Validator

• Applicant is required to present proof of successful completed milestones to the Tokenomics Working Group

  • Applicant is required to present a calculation for number of Canton Coin it should earn for meeting the requirements of the milestone

• If the Tokenomics Working Group agrees the milestone has been met and agrees with the calculation, an announcement will be sent via the Tokenomics-Announce mailing List

  • The Canton Foundation will update the extraBeneficiary to an active PartyID controlled by that Super Validator.
  • ⅔ of Super Validator Operators will then assign a portion of the Unclaimed Rewards to be minted by the Applicant’s Validator, based on the calculation approved by the Tokenomics working group.

• If any milestones and associated rewards are not achieved by the deadline

  • Applicant will be notified they have not met a deliverable by the Canton Foundation
  • Remaining SV Weight assigned to the extraBeneficiary SV will be removed from the Canton Foundation node configuration, and the total SV weight of the Canton Foundation SV node will be reduced by the same amount by a vote of the Super Validators.
  • The Tokenomics Working Group will make a recommendation to the SVs on what to do with the Unclaimed Rewards

• Applicant is subject to CIP-0045 : SV Operating Requirements

  • If, at any time, the Applicant has been rewarded SV Weight > 2.5, they are required to operate their SV within 6 months of crossing that Weight. This SV node will join the network with an SV weight of zero (0) and may add weights as the SV completes the milestones listed in this CIP.

Copyright

This CIP is licensed under CC0-1.0: Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal.

Changelog

• 2025-12-30: Initial draft of the proposal.
• 2026-01-05: CIP approved.