Oct. 7 (CandyPulse) — Cardano has taken a big step towards hosting regulated financial assets. The Cardano Foundation has launched CIP-0113, a new token standard that lets issuers of regulated tokens, such as stablecoins, funds and bonds, build compliance controls directly into their assets.
Key takeaways
Until now, once a regular Cardano native token was issued, its creator had very little control over where it went next. That's fine for many tokens, but it's a problem for regulated assets. A bank issuing a tokenized bond, or a company issuing a stablecoin, often has a legal duty to know who holds it and to act when the law requires.
CIP-0113 changes that. Issuers can now attach rules to their tokens, and the network enforces those rules automatically.
| Control | What it means |
|---|---|
| Allowlists | Only approved addresses can receive the token |
| Denylists | Specific addresses can be blocked |
| KYC-based restrictions | Transfers can depend on identity checks |
| Sanctions screening | Transfers to sanctioned parties can be blocked |
| Freezes | An issuer can freeze tokens in a wallet |
| Seizures | Designated parties can move tokens without the holder's consent, under set rules |
Issuers can pick the rules they need, customize them and update them as regulations change.
Tokenization, which means putting real-world assets like bonds, funds and cash on a blockchain, is one of the fastest-growing areas in finance. But big institutions won't take part unless they can meet their legal obligations, such as anti-money-laundering rules and sanctions checks.
By building these controls into the token standard, Cardano is making itself a more realistic home for stablecoins and tokenized securities. Other major networks already offer similar tools, so this helps Cardano compete for institutional business.
Work on the standard, including community development and audits, began in 2023. The proposal was formally merged into the official Cardano Improvement Proposals repository on Sept. 29, 2026, and the Foundation announced it live on mainnet barely a week later, during TOKEN2049.
The new powers won't sit well with everyone. Part of crypto's original appeal was that no one could freeze or take your coins. CIP-0113 gives issuers exactly that ability, at least for the tokens they create.
It's important to be clear about what this does and doesn't cover. The controls apply to tokens issued under the standard, not to ADA itself or to ordinary Cardano tokens. Anyone holding a regulated token should understand that the issuer may have the power to freeze or move it.
The real test is adoption. The standard is live; now the question is whether stablecoin issuers, asset managers and banks actually choose Cardano to issue regulated tokens.
Watch for the first major issuers announcing products built on CIP-0113. If they arrive, Cardano could become a serious player in the race to bring traditional finance on-chain.
This article is for information only and is not financial advice.
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