Cardano says compliance-enforcing token standard is now live on mainnet

The Cardano Foundation announced on 7 October at TOKEN2049 that CIP-0113, a "programmable token" standard, is live on Cardano mainnet. According to the Foundation's own announcement, the standard lets issuers of stablecoins, tokenised funds, bonds and other regulated assets embed rules — KYC and AML checks, sanctions screening, freeze-and-seize, and transfer restrictions — directly into native Cardano tokens, with the ledger enforcing those rules on every transfer, mint or burn.

The Foundation says the standard is built on Cardano's extended UTXO (EUTXO) model, attaches compliance logic to the token itself, and required no hard fork. Issuers pick from modular rule sets or write their own and update them as regulation changes without altering the core standard. Tokens stay native assets, so existing wallets, explorers and apps handle them normally; the Foundation says execution costs stay predictable regardless of how many inputs a transaction has.

Separately, the Swiss Capital Markets and Technology Association (CMTA) and the Foundation said CMTA has recognised CIP-113 Programmable Asset Tokens as a smart contract equivalent to the CMTAT standard for CMTA's certification scheme, meaning they may be used to certify compliance of ledger-based equity securities under Swiss standards.

Key facts

• CIP-0113 is live on Cardano mainnet, per the Cardano Foundation's announcement dated 7 October 2026 (Zug/Singapore, at TOKEN2049).
• The standard enforces KYC/AML, sanctions screening, freeze-and-seize and transfer restrictions at the ledger level; no hard fork was required (Cardano Foundation).
• The Foundation says launch-day tooling support comes from Eternl, GeroWallet, CardanoScan and BloxBean (Cardano Foundation).
• CMTA has recognised CIP-113 tokens as equivalent to the CMTAT standard for its certification scheme (joint CMTA/Cardano Foundation statement).
• The Foundation cites the Bank for International Settlements and IMF as having flagged programmability as central to tokenised markets; it does not quote a specific document.

The real-world read

This is the Cardano Foundation's own launch announcement — a press release — and reads like one. The marketing tell is CEO Frederik Gregaard's line that the news "moves the conversation from what Cardano could do to what it does," framing a capability launch as validation. Treat superlatives like the claim that Cardano's approach is "unique" as the issuer's positioning, not established fact.

Note what isn't disclosed: the announcement says "multiple independent security audits" were completed but names no auditor and publishes no report. No actual issuer, stablecoin or fund is named as using the standard on day one — only wallet and explorer tooling. The BIS and IMF references are invoked as endorsement of "programmability" generally, not of CIP-0113. And the CMTA recognition is a certification-scheme equivalence, not a live regulated securities issuance. Phil di Sarro of Midgard Labs, quoted praising the work, is a collaborator on the standard — an interested party.

Opinion, and whose

Gregaard (Cardano Foundation) argues the native, ledger-enforced design beats wrappers and closed systems for institutions deciding where to tokenise. Di Sarro (Midgard Labs) called the mainnet milestone something he's "proud to see." Both are parties to the project; these are positions, not independent assessments.

Sources

• Cardano Foundation blog, Siobhán Calpin, 7 October 2026 — primary source for the launch, mechanics, tooling partners and CMTA recognition. This is the Foundation's own press release and the issuer's marketing; its promotional framing is flagged above and not adopted.

This is news coverage, not financial or investment advice.