As Tharimmune collects $540 million to establish a Canton Coin treasury, the evolution of the Canton Network illustrates that launching new blockchains can happen outside of traditional ICOs.

The blockchain arena is populated with effective smart contract protocols, making it hard for newcomers to carve out a niche.

Canton Network is among the latest contenders in the ‘next generation layer one’ category aiming to attract users and funding from established players like Ethereum and Solana. Alongside SUI and Aptos, its emergence prompts a reevaluation of the argument that there are ’too many blockchains.'

The ascent of @CantonNetwork might appear swift, but it has been unfolding over a decade, learning from past missteps.

In an exclusive conversation with Cointelegraph’s Chain Reaction, co-founder Yuval Rooz recounted how the Canton Network chose to forgo an ICO, built over a decade of insights and developments.

“Our thesis was centered on supporting large-scale institutions. We’ve exercised patience, opting out of an ICO and refusing a token pre-mine. Our focus remained on developing sound tokenomics,” Rooz explained.

The Canton Network is tailored for financial institutions, facilitating secure, interoperable, and privacy-preserving transactions. Digital Asset, the firm behind Canton, characterizes its architecture as a ‘network of networks,’ targeting real-world asset tokenization and settlement.

In 2025, the protocol and its native token gained significant attention. Digital Asset completed a $135 million funding round in June to enhance the Canton ecosystem and lead RWA tokenization efforts.

Tharimmune’s recent $540 million backing aims at constructing a Canton Coin digital asset treasury, with intentions to acquire and stake CC tokens as a super validator in the network.

Slow and Steady Wins

According to Rooz, Digital Asset embraced a deliberate methodology in developing and introducing the Canton Network. A permissioned chain was rolled out in 2020 to understand user needs and performance:

“About four years were dedicated to building the first version of the ledger, followed by two to three additional years to prepare for a public launch.”

He noted that they absorbed vital lessons from prior layer-1 launches and the challenges faced by established entities like Ethereum.

“Launching a public network with numerous builders in production complicates future alterations. Public permissionless networks might struggle to integrate privacy retrospectively without significant community disruption,” Rooz remarked.

Privacy as a Necessity

Privacy has emerged as a crucial topic in the cryptocurrency realm, with protocols like Zcash drawing considerable interest.

Rooz highlighted that it was encouraging to witness industry leaders advocating for privacy in transactions and communications, despite a history of underappreciation for its importance in blockchain.

“Every time we engaged with crypto enthusiasts over the past decade, claiming privacy was essential, we were told, ‘you don’t understand crypto.’ The fundamental concept of crypto is often seen as lacking privacy,” Rooz said.

He elaborated, explaining that privacy encompasses various forms and that Zero-Knowledge (ZK) proof paradigms— which underpin Zcash— prioritize anonymity over privacy.

“ZK emerges from a perspective where the ideal onchain experience resembles that of cash, where asset ownership remains confidential. It represents an intriguing aspect, diverging from Bitcoin’s approach,” Rooz added.

From a compliance perspective, financial organizations and regulatory bodies must oversee transactions to adhere to Know Your Customer and Anti-Money Laundering regulations.

“What distinguishes Canton from Zcash is its privacy model, which facilitates information sharing on a need-to-know basis. This allows regulators to request visibility into specific user activities,” said Rooz.

Digital Asset has gained support from prominent figures across the global financial landscape, including BNP Paribas, Circle Ventures, Citadel Securities, DTCC, and Goldman Sachs during its 2025 fundraising.