Canton Development Fund
Canton Development Fund
The Canton Development Fund supports open development that strengthens the Canton ecosystem.
This repository is used to submit Development Fund proposals through GitHub Pull Requests.
High Level Documents:
Overview
The Development Fund accelerates high-quality contributions that increase the utility, security, and long-term resilience of the Canton Network.
The fund supports work such as:
- Core protocol research and development
- Developer tools and SDKs
- Security reviews, audits, and hardening
- Reference implementations
- Critical ecosystem infrastructure
- DeFi liquidity seeding where required for early utility
If your proposal delivers a shared benefit to the Canton ecosystem, it may be eligible.
How the Fund Works
The program was established through governance:
- CIP-0082 allocates 5% of future Canton Coin emissions to the Development Fund
- CIP-0100 defines the governance and review process
Unlike many networks, Canton does not use a premine or treasury. Funding comes from future network rewards to create a durable, predictable source.
The Canton Foundation acts as a neutral facilitator.
Funding decisions are made by the Tech & Ops Committee, with final approval by the Voting Group.
Program structure
- Quarterly funding allocation
- Milestone-based payments
- Funding denominated in Canton Coin (CC)
- Transparent, community-visible process
Who Can Submit
You may submit a proposal if you are:
- A Canton Foundation member
- A contributor organization
- An external team or individual
External contributors must have a Champion to support the proposal.
All proposals are evaluated based on impact, quality, feasibility, and alignment, not on who submits them.
The committee will review no more than 3 proposals a week from one organization / champion.
How to Submit a Proposal
All proposals are submitted via Pull Request.
Step 1: Review the PR Template
Use the Development Fund template located at:
.github/pull_request_template.md
The template requires:
- Objective and scope
- Technical approach
- Architectural alignment
- Milestones and deliverables
- Acceptance criteria
- Funding request and milestone breakdown
Step 2: Create Your Proposal
- Fork this repository
- Create a new branch
- Add your proposal as a Markdown file under:
proposals/<project-name>.md
- Complete the content using the PR template structure
Step 3: Open a Pull Request
Use the following title format:
Proposal: <Project Name>
Once submitted, your proposal will enter the review process.
Review Process
- Please see the Review Process
What Makes a Strong Proposal
Successful proposals typically include:
- A clear problem and ecosystem value
- Deliverables that can be objectively verified
- Realistic timelines and scope
- Open-source or reusable outputs where appropriate
- Evidence of technical capability
- Adoption or distribution plan
RFPs and Priority Areas
The Tech & Ops Committee may publish Requests for Proposals (RFPs) for strategic needs.
RFP announcements will be published here:
<ADD RFP LOCATION>
Governance Structure (CIP-0100)
The Development Fund is administered through:
Voting Group
- 5 voting members and 2 alternates
- Final approval of funding decisions
Security Subcommittee
- Reviews security-sensitive proposals
Core Contributors Group
- Provides technical input and prioritization
Operations Subcommittee
- Oversees reporting, communications, and operational coordination
Payment Terms
- Funding is denominated in Canton Coin (CC)
- Payments are milestone-based and released after acceptance
- Projects longer than 6 months may be re-evaluated for price volatility
- Funding may be paused or stopped if milestones are not met
Scope Guidance
Eligible work includes contributions that are a common good for the ecosystem:
- Protocol improvements
- Shared developer tooling
- Security and reliability enhancements
- Reference implementations
- Infrastructure used by multiple participants
The fund does not support purely private or proprietary work.
Questions
Email: dev-fund@canton.foundation
Additional information:
Why This Fund Exists
Canton adoption is growing rapidly. The Development Fund ensures the network evolves with:
- Open participation
- Transparent governance
- Predictable funding
- Long-term ecosystem resilience
Goal: Support development that makes Canton stronger for everyone.
Repository License
Proposal documents in this repository are dedicated to the public domain under CC0-1.0 (Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal).
This allows proposals to be freely discussed, quoted, and referenced during the governance and review process.
If a proposal includes software or technical artifacts, those components should specify their own license (commonly Apache-2.0 within the proposal or associated repository.
Questions
For community discussion, feedback, or broader ecosystem input:
Mailing list: grants-discuss@lists.sync.global
For private questions about a proposal or submission process:
Email: dev-fund@canton.foundation
