Canton Foundation Launches Daml 3 Certification to Standardize Institutional On-Chain Finance

The Canton Foundation has launched an official certification program for Daml 3, the smart contract language powering the Canton Network. This initiative provides a standardized pathway for developers to build applications for regulated financial markets, where the network already supports over $6 trillion in on-chain assets across various institutional deployments.

What was announced

The Canton Developer Certification is designed as the official credential for Daml 3, the smart contract language used within the Canton Network. The program aims to bridge the gap between general blockchain development and the specific, stringent requirements of regulated financial services. It focuses on two core pillars of the Daml language: controlling authority over contracts and managing access to contract terms.

The curriculum is built on the latest technology stack, specifically Daml 3 and Canton 3.x. It serves multiple tiers of the developer ecosystem, from newcomers seeking a structured entry point to institutional architects designing complex Canton deployments. For those already working with Daml 2, the program provides a transition path to migrate skills and codebases to the current version. This consolidation onto a single platform is intended to unify the developer community around the most recent technical standards.

Structurally, the program offers self-paced coursework accessible globally at no cost. To achieve official certification, developers must pass exams priced at $150 each. By establishing this benchmark, the Canton Foundation intends to provide financial institutions, application providers, system integrators, and validators with a consistent method for assessing technical talent and ensuring that on-chain applications meet institutional standards for privacy and authorization.

"Financial institutions need confidence that the applications they rely on are built by developers who understand the demands of regulated markets. With this certification program, we’re opening up opportunities for developers worldwide to build on Canton, while establishing a common standard of expertise. By bringing the community together on Daml 3, we’re building a stronger foundation for Canton’s future growth."

Amanda Martin, Chief Operating Officer at Canton Foundation

The companies involved

The Canton Foundation serves as the governing body for the Canton Network, a public, permissionless blockchain specifically engineered to meet the needs of regulated finance. Unlike retail-focused blockchains, the network is designed to balance the transparency of distributed ledgers with the strict privacy and regulatory compliance required by global financial institutions. The foundation oversees the development of the Canton protocol and the Daml smart contract language.

Daml was originally created to allow developers to write once and deploy across multiple platforms, but its integration with the Canton Network has become its primary focus for institutional use cases. The network’s architecture allows for independent blockchains to interoperate while maintaining data silos, a critical feature for banks and asset managers who cannot expose proprietary transaction data on a fully transparent public ledger. By managing the certification program, the Foundation acts as a central authority for technical standards within an ecosystem that currently processes trillions of dollars in assets across various asset classes and markets.

What FF News has reported before

FF News has previously tracked the Canton Foundation’s efforts to expand its institutional footprint, particularly within Asian capital markets. In October 2026, we reported that the Canton Foundation and Meritz Securities Partner to Link Korean Capital Markets with Global Blockchain, an initiative aimed at connecting local financial infrastructure with global on-chain liquidity.

This followed another significant move in the region, where the Canton Foundation and LG CNS Partner to Drive Institutional Blockchain Adoption in Korea. These partnerships highlight the Foundation's strategy of working with major regional players to integrate the Canton Network into existing financial frameworks, a goal that the new certification program supports by ensuring a local talent pool is available to execute these complex technical integrations.

What this means

The launch of a formal certification suggests that institutional blockchain has moved past the experimental phase and into a period of industrialization. For the fintech sector, the bottleneck for on-chain finance is no longer just the technology, but the scarcity of developers who understand the nuances of regulated, privacy-first smart contracts. By standardizing Daml 3 expertise, the Canton Foundation is attempting to commoditize the skills needed for institutional deployments. This puts pressure on general-purpose blockchain platforms that lack specific financial governance features, as banks are likely to favor ecosystems that offer a verified, professionalized workforce over those relying on uncertified developer communities.