Cardano has just written freezing and confiscation into its token standard... Many people see this as yet another blockchain giving in to regulation, but what’s really being redrawn is the most basic boundary of on-chain assets: do the things in your wallet actually belong to you?
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On Wednesday, the Cardano Foundation announced that a token standard called CIP-0113 had officially launched and passed an independent security audit. Its purpose is straightforward: to let issuers of regulated assets such as stablecoins, funds, and bonds decide who can receive their tokens, and freeze, seize, or forcibly transfer them when the rules require it. The change doesn’t require a hard fork.
Under normal circumstances, whoever holds a token can transfer it to anyone without needing anyone’s approval. That’s precisely what banks and funds can’t accept when moving regulated assets on-chain. They have to ensure tokens don’t end up with buyers who haven’t passed identity checks or reach sanctioned addresses—and if regulators or a court issue an order, they need to be able to hit the brakes. CIP-0113 builds these checks directly into the tokens, so the network checks the rules before every transfer.
The foundation’s CEO says the rules must travel with the asset and be enforced every time it moves. Issuers can choose a ready-made set of rules or write their own, and those rules can be updated as regulations change. A list of supporting services was also announced: wallets Eternl and GeroWallet, blockchain explorer CardanoScan, and developer tools provider BloxBean. The foundation also received recognition for its certification framework from the Swiss Capital Markets and Technology Association, whose standards are used to issue tokenized shares.
At this point, there’s nothing particularly new. Ethereum has long had permissioned token standards such as ERC-3643; Solana relies on token extensions and transfer controls; and the XRP Ledger also lets issuers restrict holders and recover balances. So this is more like an entry ticket. Cardano isn’t competing to be the first to invent the technology, but for a place on the track that regulated assets will use by default in the future.
What’s really worth noting is the power that comes with it. Holding one of these tokens means effectively accepting powers that go beyond blocking payments: under specific rules, an authorized party can transfer the tokens without the holder’s consent. The technical documentation even specifically advises lending services to check what powers are attached to these tokens before accepting them as collateral.
That takes the question to another level. If freezing and forced transfers become the default for tokenized assets, the market will eventually have to reprice two things: first, how much self-custody is really worth, and second, how cheap custody should be. ADA fell 4.5 points over the past 24 hours, in line with the broader market. What’s worth watching next isn’t how many more standards get announced, but who the first issuers of stablecoins or funds using these rules will be—and whose hands they leave the power to freeze in.
📢 最新消息群里说
On Wednesday, the Cardano Foundation announced that a token standard called CIP-0113 had officially launched and passed an independent security audit. Its purpose is straightforward: to let issuers of regulated assets such as stablecoins, funds, and bonds decide who can receive their tokens, and freeze, seize, or forcibly transfer them when the rules require it. The change doesn’t require a hard fork.
Under normal circumstances, whoever holds a token can transfer it to anyone without needing anyone’s approval. That’s precisely what banks and funds can’t accept when moving regulated assets on-chain. They have to ensure tokens don’t end up with buyers who haven’t passed identity checks or reach sanctioned addresses—and if regulators or a court issue an order, they need to be able to hit the brakes. CIP-0113 builds these checks directly into the tokens, so the network checks the rules before every transfer.
The foundation’s CEO says the rules must travel with the asset and be enforced every time it moves. Issuers can choose a ready-made set of rules or write their own, and those rules can be updated as regulations change. A list of supporting services was also announced: wallets Eternl and GeroWallet, blockchain explorer CardanoScan, and developer tools provider BloxBean. The foundation also received recognition for its certification framework from the Swiss Capital Markets and Technology Association, whose standards are used to issue tokenized shares.
At this point, there’s nothing particularly new. Ethereum has long had permissioned token standards such as ERC-3643; Solana relies on token extensions and transfer controls; and the XRP Ledger also lets issuers restrict holders and recover balances. So this is more like an entry ticket. Cardano isn’t competing to be the first to invent the technology, but for a place on the track that regulated assets will use by default in the future.
What’s really worth noting is the power that comes with it. Holding one of these tokens means effectively accepting powers that go beyond blocking payments: under specific rules, an authorized party can transfer the tokens without the holder’s consent. The technical documentation even specifically advises lending services to check what powers are attached to these tokens before accepting them as collateral.
That takes the question to another level. If freezing and forced transfers become the default for tokenized assets, the market will eventually have to reprice two things: first, how much self-custody is really worth, and second, how cheap custody should be. ADA fell 4.5 points over the past 24 hours, in line with the broader market. What’s worth watching next isn’t how many more standards get announced, but who the first issuers of stablecoins or funds using these rules will be—and whose hands they leave the power to freeze in.
