How to Become a Featured App on Canton Network
Featured App status is how an application gets paid for the on-chain activity it generates. Canton Coin minting occurs per round, approximately every 10 minutes, with ~62% of minted CC distributed to Featured Applications. The passage of CIP-116 in May 2026 requires all Featured Apps maintain locked Canton Coin, creating a capital pledge to gain the benefit of minting reward coupons.
5M CC
locked per Non-Issuer Featured App PartyID
25M CC
locked per Asset Issuer Featured App PartyID
What Featured App status gets you
A Featured App (FA) earns minting rights on the CC reward pool per round via reward coupons. The approval of CIP-104 shifts the coupon mechanism from activity markers to a measurement of app-related traffic spend on the network. Each Featured App's share of the reward pool is proportional to their share of the total FA traffic spend for that round. Because rewards follow measured traffic, they are funded by what an app's users actually spend, scaling with real usage rather than with how activity is reported. Apps without FA status have no claim on the rewards pool.
The traffic mechanism suits asset issuers better than markers did. An issuer that signs the asset contract is a confirming party on transactions transferring it, so traffic attributes to them automatically at no cost to the issuer. Where the asset moves inside another Featured App's transaction, the two share credit for that traffic.
None of it starts without the lock. A Non-Issuer Featured App PartyID needs 5,000,000 Canton Coin locked. An Asset Issuer PartyID needs 25,000,000. Held continuously, per PartyID.
Prerequisites
- A PartyID for the applicationRequired on the form, no exceptions.
- The app hosted on a Canton validatorIts own validator is most common. A third-party validator is fine.
- MainNet, or within two weeks of itThe Foundation asks applicants to apply within two weeks of MainNet launch. Apply earlier and they ask you to come back inside the window.
- A Standalone SV SponsorSelect from the form's list: 5North, 7Ridge, Cumberland, Digital Asset, Foundation, Liberty City Ventures, MPCH, Orb-1, Proof Group, SBI Digital Asset, Tradeweb. The form's own guidance, verbatim: "if you don't know, it's probably the Foundation."
- Audit postureThe form asks whether the smart contracts are audited, who audited them, and if they aren't, the plan to get there.
- Usage data, per use caseTransactions per user per day, maximum per round, how volume scales, first customers and go-live dates.
The steps
Map the PartyIDs and classify each one
An app performing more than one major role gives each role its own PartyID, and for Asset Issuers this is mandatory: an issuer PartyID may not simultaneously operate as a wallet, a DEX, a market maker, a lending protocol, or a payment processor. Classify each party as Asset Issuer or Non-Issuer, which sets the 25 million CC lock or the 5 million CC lock for that party. Applicants self-declare on the form, and the Foundation checks the declaration against actual network activity, moving a party to the higher tier if it starts behaving like an issuer. Featured App locking requirements apply per PartyID.
Source the CC
Locking Canton Coin for CIP-116 is the longest-lead item in the process, but it runs in parallel with the application rather than gating it. The three routes from best to worst are:
- Delegated locking through a CC locking marketplace: Most Featured App applicants have used this method through Cashen since the June compliance deadline. The FA pays a fixed APR to a CC holder who locks on the app's behalf. The supplier retains custody the entire time, so there are no capital transfers, nothing to collateralize, and no credit exposure.
- Borrowing CC outright. The app takes custody, the lender takes credit risk. The app posts collateral and pays a rate that compensates for counterparty exposure.
- Fund from balance sheet. Operationally easiest but most expensive in practice. The full amount is immobilized and cannot be used for development and growth.
One duration factor applies to all three: unlocking requires vesting over 60 days at 1/60 per day, and on a delegated or borrowed lock the interest runs through vesting.
The Foundation's application form asks about this directly:
"Will you need support in sourcing $CC for the FA locking requirement?"
The question exists because sourcing is the bottleneck for most applicants. If the answer is yes, Cashen is where that gets solved.
Establish the locking PartyID
The PartyID used depends on the outcome of step 2. Self-funding means creating it: a segregated, identifiable party used only for locking. It cannot double as the app activity party, the rewards party, or anything else already in operation, and funds should not move in and out of it during normal operations. Delegated locking means creating nothing. The supplier creates a new locking PartyID for each specific deal.
Disclose the lock to the Foundation
"Ready to lock" has a five-part definition: Featured App PartyID identified, locking PartyID identified, required CC positioned, Foundation notified, issuer status confirmed.
A lock in place before approval costs nothing if the application is rejected, because the 60-day vesting schedule does not apply to a rejection. On a delegated lock deal, Cashen handles the Foundation reporting and coordinates disclosure and ongoing confirmation.
Submit the Featured App Request
The form highlights the quality filter the Foundation is aiming for. Company background, application summary, expected users, how the app interacts with the ledger, which activities earn rewards, controls against non-bona-fide transactions, and what changes about the plan without FA status. That last question is the Committee asking whether the business brings real value or whether the rewards are the point.
Present to the Tokenomics Committee
Five minutes, then Q&A. Responsible Persons get coordinated onto a Committee call. A vote may happen in that meeting or after it, with no guarantee either way.
Lock, then get Featured
The on-chain vote to feature a PartyID is gated on proof of sufficient locked CC. Governance typically completes within two weeks of the approval vote. A lock already live through a Cashen deal clears this step, and lock readiness is what earns priority in Tokenomics review.
Report, continuously
Within one month of the application's one-month anniversary on MainNet, it's the app's responsibility to coordinate a Tokenomics call and present first-month results. Statistics run per use case: transactions per day, maximum transactions per round, how each use case generates rewards, and customer counts at the start and end of the period. Repeat quarterly from that same anniversary. Reporting that arrives late, or that doesn't satisfy the Committee, opens a two-week cure period, after which status is revoked.
Maintain the lock
Unexpectedly losing a lock is a real risk to a Featured App. A supplier exits or a term ends, and FA status is exposed until replacement CC is found. Supplier substitution can eliminate that gap, and liquidity access is what makes substitution possible on short notice. Cashen offers the largest network of institutional CC suppliers on a single platform, with continuity protections built into the deal structure.
The Foundation doesn't publish timeline guidance, but observed patterns are several weeks to months from submission to vote. Having a lock in place and understanding the process expedites this significantly.
Where Cashen fits
Cashen is the Canton Coin locking marketplace. The model is locking-as-a-service: a bilateral CC locking marketplace where Featured Apps source locked CC delegations from institutional holders. The FA gets the lock required by CIP-116 without putting up 5M or 25M CC from its own balance sheet. The supplier earns yield on locked CC and keeps custody of it the whole time.
Every deal is bilateral and fixed at origination on five terms: the CC amount, a fixed APR, a minimum lock period, recall notice terms, and a breach rate if a recall goes unresolved. Interest accrues continuously and settles monthly. Substitution provisions let a supplier exit without breaking the FA's lock.
The structure is closer to an OTC credit desk than a DeFi protocol. Nothing is lent or pooled, and both sides stay non-custodial. Capital-efficient Canton Coin locking is the result: no collateral to post and no credit premium, because no party takes principal risk.
Cashen carries the largest network of institutional CC suppliers on a single platform, enabling seamless substitution rather than needing to negotiate new deals from scratch.
As of July 2026, over 55 apps have onboarded and more than 300M CC is locked in active deals. The majority of Featured App applicants who sourced a lock after the June compliance deadline did it on Cashen. Fastest listing to matched deal is ten minutes. Average time to first match is measured in hours.
Access requires onboarding and completing full institutional KYB. Cashen Labs is a member of the Canton Foundation, backed by Ergonia, a Cumberland DRW company.
Sourcing the lock is the longest step in attaining Featured App status. It is also the only one that can be solved in an afternoon.
Common mistakes
- Starting the lock hunt too late. Sourcing 5M or 25M to lock CC for Featured App status can take longer than teams assume. Cashen offers the quickest path from onboarding to matching on a live deal.
- Declaring Non-Issuer when the activity says otherwise. That gets you reclassified and delayed.
- Incomplete answers on the form get returned before review, and vague answers result in a harder Q&A.
- Treating the lock as a one-time event rather than a standing obligation.