Hi all,

Shaul and I are sharing a draft CIP for discussion: Universal Burn and Synchronizer Pricing.

Today, traffic on the Global Synchronizer burns CC and earns rewards for the apps and validators that generate it, while traffic on dedicated synchronizers has been paid for through license fees that sit outside the network’s economy. This CIP proposes that every synchronizer running production workloads burns CC at the Global Synchronizer’s list price, that apps and validators earn rewards on that traffic wherever it runs, and that running a dedicated synchronizer becomes fully permissionless. To make Canton viable for high-throughput, low-value use cases like payments and trading, it also introduces volume pricing for dedicated synchronizers and further discounts for operators who commit to throughput and back that commitment with staked CC. We’re excited about this because it turns MainNet into one economy: value that used to leave the ecosystem becomes burn, more activity feeds the same reward pools, and Canton becomes competitive for the kinds of workloads that can drive real volume. This CIP asks the SVs to approve the framework; the specific numbers will follow in a second CIP.

A supporting presentation with our current thinking and illustrative pricing is available at the universal burn deck.

We'd love your feedback on this, as we consider it a critical step for the growth of the network.
Y.

CIP-TBD: Universal Burn and Synchronizer Pricing

Number: CIP-XXXX
Title: Universal Burn and Synchronizer Pricing
Author(s): Yiannis Varelas, Shaul Kfir
Type: Tokenomics
Status: Draft
Created: 2026-10-07
License: CC0-1.0

Abstract

Traffic on Canton MainNet is paid for in two different ways. On the Global Synchronizer, users burn Canton Coin (CC) for traffic, and apps and validators earn rewards based on that traffic. Traffic on dedicated synchronizers doesn't burn anything. Historically, it has been paid for through license fees to Digital Asset.

 

This CIP proposes universal burn: every synchronizer running production workloads burns CC for its traffic at the Global Synchronizer's list price, and apps and validators earn rewards for that traffic just as they would on the Global Synchronizer. To incentivize high-volume use cases to run on Canton, dedicated synchronizers will also get a volume-based pricing curve, plus further discounts for operators who commit to a level of throughput, back it with collateral, and maintain the commitment over time.

 

We are asking the Super Validators (SVs) to approve this framework. Once it is approved, universal burn can be implemented. A second CIP will propose the implementation details of the pricing curve and the discounts, along with initial parameters.

Motivation

Validators can connect to as many synchronizers as they need. Most use the Global Synchronizer, which the SVs run. Some workloads run on dedicated synchronizers instead (historically referred to as private synchronizers or subnets). These are part of the same MainNet: they carry the same assets, and apps on them can transact with apps on other synchronizers.

 

Economically, though, they currently sit apart. Traffic on the Global Synchronizer burns CC, and app and validator operators earn rewards for it. Dedicated synchronizers and the apps and validators connected to them do not.

 

We'd propose that MainNet should work as one economy. Anyone should be able to run a synchronizer without a license, and all production traffic should pay into the same system that rewards the apps and validators generating it.

 

A single flat price doesn't get us all the way there. Some of the most promising use cases for dedicated synchronizers on Canton, such as payments and trading, run at high throughput with a low value per transaction. At the current pricing of $60/Mb before rewards (about $1 per transaction), the barrier to use Canton is too high. Cloud providers entice high-volume customers with volume pricing and committed-use discounts, and this CIP proposes a similar structure.

Specification

1. Universal burn

1. Every synchronizer running production workloads on MainNet burns CC for its traffic, at the same list price. This covers the Global Synchronizer and every dedicated synchronizer.

2. The list price is the Global Synchronizer's price per MB, as set by the SVs through the process in CIP-0084. It is currently $60/MB, about $1 for a typical transaction before rewards.

3. Running a dedicated synchronizer is permissionless. Anyone can deploy one and connect validators to it, with no license and nothing to negotiate. Its traffic is paid for on-chain, by burning CC, in the same way as traffic on the Global Synchronizer.

2. Rewards

1. Apps and validators earn rewards for all of their traffic, including traffic on dedicated synchronizers. The same reward rules apply wherever the traffic runs.

2. The SVs cannot see traffic on synchronizers they do not operate. The operator of each dedicated synchronizer will therefore publish aggregate reports of its traffic on the Global Synchronizer, attributed per party as the reward rules require.

3. At launch, these reports rely on the operator being honest. A maliciously constructed report can misdirect rewards between participants of the dedicated synchronizer, but it cannot earn rewards on more traffic than the synchronizer or its users paid for. A future CIP may tighten enforcement.

4. Rewards on dedicated-synchronizer traffic are weighted by the CC actually burned, after discounts (described below).

3. Volume pricing on dedicated synchronizers

1. The Global Synchronizer keeps a single price at every volume.

2. For dedicated synchronizers, the price per MB decreases as sustained throughput on each synchronizer increases, following a published curve applicable to all dedicated synchronizers.

4. Commitment discounts

1. On a dedicated synchronizer, an operator can commit to a level of throughput for a year or more and back the commitment with collateral posted in CC. Committed volume gets a lower price.

2. There are three discounts, applied on top of the volume-based discount:

• Commitment: for committing, with a minimum collateral requirement.

• Collateral: a larger discount for posting more collateral, up to a maximum.

• Loyalty: a further discount for each year the commitment and staked collateral stay in place, up to a maximum.

3. Committing is optional. Once implemented, it is self-serve and permissionless: it happens on-chain, without negotiating with the Canton Foundation, the SVs, or anyone else.

4. A commitment is binding. Shortfalls against it are paid from the collateral and credited back as traffic. Collateral that is not topped up when required can be forfeited. The rest is returned when the commitment ends.

5. Governance

Every number in this framework will be an on-chain governance parameter, including the list price, the volume curve, the size of each discount, and the collateral levels. The SVs can change any of them with a 2/3 vote. Future discounts may be added to this framework via CIP and 2/3 vote.

6. Until the pricing curve is approved

1. Approving this CIP allows universal burn to be implemented without waiting for the second CIP.

2. Until the pricing curve is approved in a subsequent CIP, the operator of a dedicated synchronizer can ask the SVs for a discount, and the SVs decide on a case-by-case basis by vote.

3. These interim discounts end when the pricing curve and the commitment discounts go live.

7. What does not change

• The Global Synchronizer's price.

• The split of rewards between SVs, validators, apps, and the Development Fund (CIP-0082).

• Paymasters can still offer users a fixed fiat price for traffic.

• Private configurations remain possible: an organization can still run everything in-house, much as it would a private blockchain. Its production traffic burns CC like any other.

• Test and development environments do not burn real CC.

8. Rollout

 

These dates are our ambitious estimates of when each phase could be ready. They are not deadlines.

9. Left to the second CIP

The second CIP will propose the implementation details, including:

 

• the volume curve, and how sustained throughput is measured

• the size of each discount, and the collateral levels

• how collateral is valued, and the rules for notice, shortfalls and margin calls

• whether and how parameter changes apply to existing commitments

• commitments that cover more than one synchronizer

• how the discounted price is computed and applied

 

The appendix of the accompanying Universal Burn deck sets out our current thinking on each of these, with illustrative numbers. It is there to inform the discussion and is not part of what this CIP asks the SVs to approve.

Rationale

Why the same list price everywhere? Starting every synchronizer at the Global Synchronizer's price gives the whole network one reference price, and the Global Synchronizer's price doesn't change. There's no setup fee and no premium for running a dedicated synchronizer.

 

Why volume pricing only on dedicated synchronizers? When a workload grows, we'd rather it bring new capacity to the network than put more load on the Global Synchronizer. A single price also keeps the Global Synchronizer simple.

 

Why collateral behind commitments? Cloud providers enforce committed-use discounts through invoices and contracts. A permissionless network can't, so commitments are backed by collateral instead. Collateral also makes committed burn visible on-chain in advance, so future burn is easier to forecast, and it keeps CC locked for as long as the commitment lasts.

 

Why approve the framework before the numbers? The structure is what operators need to plan around, and we think it's the decision the SVs should make first. The numbers need more modeling and more feedback from the community and from operators. Splitting the two lets universal burn start sooner, and the interim discounts give the SVs a way to handle specific cases in the meantime. CIP-0082 took the same approach: it established the Development Fund and left the mechanics to a later CIP (CIP-100).

Alternatives considered

• Keep license fees for dedicated synchronizers. That's the status quo. License payments leave the network's economy, and the approach doesn't fit a permissionless network built on open-source software.

• One flat price, with no discounts. Simpler, but it would price high-volume, low-monetary-value use cases out of Canton.

• Negotiated pricing, permanently. Case-by-case deals would have the SVs negotiating with every operator, and the outcome would be neither predictable nor permissionless. We propose it only as a stopgap until the pricing curve is approved.

• Exempting deployments that serve a single organization. A fully private deployment is one admin command away from the rest of MainNet, and an exemption like this would be hard to define and hard to police. A future CIP could introduce a further discount for such use cases.

Economic impact

• License revenue that used to leave the ecosystem becomes burn on the network.

• Apps and validators on dedicated synchronizers participate in the same reward pools, so rewards are shared across more activity, and that activity brings more burn.

• Volume pricing makes high-throughput use cases viable. We expect that to mean more total burn, even at lower prices per transaction.

• Commitments lock CC up as collateral and make future burn more predictable.

• Issuance and the reward split don't change.

Backwards compatibility

The Global Synchronizer's price and mechanics don't change.

 

Existing dedicated synchronizers move from license fees to burn as the license fees phase out. Digital Asset will handle that transition with each existing customer, and the interim discounts are available in the meantime.

Reference implementation

None yet. If this CIP is approved, the next steps are:

 

1. Implement universal burn, including traffic reporting for dedicated synchronizers, and deploy it by SV vote.

2. Request a grant to design the pricing curve and the discounts, run proofs of concept, and continue discussions with operators.

3. Submit the second CIP with the implementation spec.

4. Request a grant to implement it on MainNet.

Copyright

This CIP is licensed under CC0-1.0: Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal.

Changelog

• 2026-10-07: Initial draft.

 

---

 

Appendix: Preview of the proposed initial pricing

This appendix is not part of the CIP and is not up for approval. It gives a high-level preview of the initial pricing we expect to propose in the second CIP. The numbers are illustrative. The appendix of the Universal Burn deck has the details.

All prices here are gross, per typical transaction (16.67kb), on a dedicated synchronizer. The Global Synchronizer stays at the list price, about $1 a transaction, at any volume. All parameters suggested here will be configurable on-chain by vote of 2/3 of SVs.

• Volume. Up to 1 TPS of sustained throughput, the price is the list price. Above that, it halves with every 10x of throughput: 50¢ at 10 TPS, 25¢ at 100 TPS and 12.5¢ at 1,000 TPS.

• Commitment. An operator who commits to a level of throughput for a year or more, and posts collateral worth 20% of that year's fees, gets 50% off the volume price on the committed volume.

• More collateral. Each doubling of the collateral takes another 25% off, up to collateral worth 100% of a year's fees, which guarantees the full year's spend. Going from 20% to 100% is a little over two doublings, so 100% collateral comes to about 74% off the volume price.

• Loyalty. Each year the commitment stays in place takes another 15% off the committed price: 30% after two years, and 60% after four, which is the maximum.

With all three at their maximum, committed volume costs about a tenth of the volume price. An app at 10 TPS would pay a gross fee of about 5¢ a transaction instead of 50¢.

Most of what's burned is minted back as rewards to app and validator operators, so the net cost is much lower than these gross prices. The deck shows both.