Old school cypherpunk believer. Director, Canton Network Ecosystem at Digital Asset. All views are my own.
Joined November 2025
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Wayne Collier retweeted
Enjoy true digital ownership of your Canton Coin (CC) for the first time: available natively via the Ledger Wallet™ app.
Traditionally reserved for institutions and network validators, CC is now accessible to individuals. We are bridging the gap between regulated finance and retail ownership, while actively securing the @CantonNetwork as a Super Validator.
Wayne Collier retweeted
If you want a glimpse into where my head was at in 2019, here's a discussion between me and @skamille on @ACMQueue. We covered quite a lot there.
This is two years before Canton first went into production and five years before @CantonNetwork launch. Daml ran on our previous gen blockchain called Apollo and on multiple other private chains. We were already deep into working on Canton but we didn't talk about it publicly.
DAML: The Contract Language of Distributed Ledgers
A discussion between Shaul Kfir and Camille Fournier
The how and why of Digital Asset's own distributed-ledger technology, DAML (Digital Asset Modeling Language)
queue.acm.org/detail.cfm?id=…
#blockchain #bitcoin #finance
@skamille
Wayne Collier retweeted
Fed research paper argues that digital money (stablecoins, MMFs, tokenized deposits) can be "fragile" even when perfectly backed, due to the properties of the chain. The core argument is that the rails can cause a "run on the bank."
@CantonNetwork prevents this risk
New #FEDSPaper: The Fragility of Perfectly Safe Digital Money: federalreserve.gov/econres/f… #EconTwitter
Wayne Collier retweeted
We need to build a cultural movement.
This is how @CantonNetwork hits escape velocity. 👇
@CantonFdn $cc
Wayne Collier retweeted
My top 10 projects on @CantonNetwork.
The video ran long (12 min) but I wanted to give these projects the respect and time they deserved.
Also, if you're watching you should follow. Enjoy.
@CantonFdn $cc
Wayne Collier retweeted
If I permit myself one bearish EthCC review tweet, it’s that the EF and ethCC leadership are very misguided on Ethereum (the Computer)’s decentralisation. Behind closed doors they are again trying to rush through issuance caps, and think Eth’s Nakamoto coefficient is the wrong measure of decentralisation. They care more about “hard money” and their tax bills than Ethereum being incorruptible.
I think they misunderstand why Ethereum is valuable, as well as the purpose of stake and issuance:
You can make a blockchain with tiny issuance, but unless it’s decentralised no one will value it. You can change economic policy to favour the 0.4% of solo stakers, but they don’t control fork choice. You can claim $X billion dollars are enough economic security to prevent the manipulation of finality, but censoring what you attest to isn’t slashable so that doesn’t matter in practice despite mattering in theory.
Where I mostly agree with them is that any change of economics needs massive legitimacy, and I think lean Ethereum is a legitimate reason to rethink economics to ensure block building+proving is meaningfully decentralised. I think we agree that social slashing is not a realistic enough threat right now. I think we also (mostly) agree that a Nakamoto of 5 is far too low for the world computer (even if some dispute it being the most important measure). I think we also collectively believe that everyone with opinions on issuance are being genuine and mean the best for Ethereum, but are likely ‘feeling different parts of the elephant’.
Constructive next steps are publishing credible data on the cost to operate stake, Ethereum’s Nakamoto coefficient, the gini index of its withdrawal credentials, R&D on EIPs that mitigate centralisation pressures, analysis of Ethereum’s principal agent problem in staking, and how we might 10x+ Ethereum’s decentralisation in a post-quantum future.
A centralised Ethereum is the ultimate financial panopticon, is worse than the status quo, and is something I worry deeply about bringing into the world. I think the majority of Eth people agree and want to prevent that future. If so, we need to bring CROPS to the consensus layer, and not allow absolute power to corrupt absolutely; by no means an easy feat, but one I think we have rough consensus on vying for. Obol will remain steadfast on the front lines of this battle.
Wayne Collier retweeted
Canton's Polyglot Vision – From Whitepaper to Reality (and Why It Matters)
1/ Most blockchains lock you into one language and one virtual machine.
Canton is different. Last year, @DigitalAsset published the Polyglot Canton Whitepaper, a blueprint for a truly multi-language, multi-VM network that keeps Canton's superpowers: privacy, atomic composability, and institutional-grade controls.
Today, that vision is no longer theory. It's shipping with @ZenithFdn.
Let me break it down simply.
2/ What “Polyglot” Actually Means Here
Canton separates two things that are usually glued together on other chains:
1. The ledger model (extended UTXO + sub-transaction privacy)
2. The execution interpreter (the engine that actually runs your smart-contract code)
This clean split lets Canton support multiple languages and VMs at the same time, Daml, Rust (via SVM), Solidity (via EVM), and more, while everything still composes atomically in one transaction.
Quote from the paper: “The more cleanly the ledger model is separated from the language interpreter, the easier it is to support additional languages and virtual machines.”
That’s the entire unlock.
3/ Why This Matters (The Real-World Problem It Solves)
Solidity devs (90%+ of DeFi TVL) have never been able to bring their code to a privacy-first, regulated network.
Rust devs (Solana ecosystem, high-performance apps) had no clean path to Canton’s institutional rails.
Institutions want atomic DvP, collateral mobility, and not just tokenized RWAs, but mobilized RWAs, and, with all of that, they also need the confidentiality, control, and reliability that public chains have yet to provide at scale.
Polyglot Canton gives everyone the best of both worlds: familiar languages + Canton’s privacy and atomicity.
4/ How It’s Coming to Life with @ZenithFdn
We are the team turning the whitepaper into production code. We have built Canton’s canonical EVM and SVM execution layer, the exact polyglot extension the paper called for.
a. Full EVM compatibility → Solidity contracts run with zero changes.
b. SVM/Rust support is roadmapped → high-performance, memory-safe contracts.
c. Atomic cross-VM composability → a Solidity contract can call a Daml contract (or Rust contract) in a single private transaction.
d. Privacy preserved at every step via Canton’s sub-transaction views.
Zenith is already a Tier-1 Super Validator and the official EVM/SVM application layer. What the whitepaper described in theory, we are delivering in practice.
5/ What This Means for @CantonNetwork
(The Big Implications)
→ Developer explosion: Hundreds of thousands of existing Solidity and Rust devs can now build on Canton without learning Daml first.
→ DeFi meets real finance: Privacy-preserving versions of Aave, Uniswap-style logic, and distributed RWAs can run alongside institutional workflows.
→ Massive RWA and payments pipelines: Deals already in flight (tokenization stacks, stablecoin flows, collateral mobility) can now use battle-tested EVM code while gaining Canton’s regulatory superpowers.
→ Network effects on hyperdrive: One unified ledger where public innovation and private control coexist = no more “pick a side” between crypto and institutions.
The whitepaper said: “A future where Canton is polyglot, widely accessible, and compatible with EVM chains and DeFi.”
That future is arriving in 2026.
6/ Bottom line:
Canton was never meant to be “just another smart-contract chain.”
It was built to be the unified venue where every type of developer and every type of capital can meet privately and atomically. This is a true "network of networks," aka the global synchronizer.
@ZenithFdn is making that vision real, one VM at a time.
If you’re a Solidity dev, Rust dev, or institutional builder who thought “Canton is Daml-only,” it’s time to take another look.
The polyglot era of Canton is on its way.
What will you unlock?
(And yes, the full whitepaper is excellent reading: canton.network/hubfs/Canton%…)
Zth.
Wayne Collier retweeted
The first time I met @wesarn_real, he told me, "We're going to Trojan horse the banks onto crypto." A week later, I was on a plane to NYC to start DA.
Never loved "Trojan horse" because we're helping TradFi, not harming them. But we've definitely been Mr. Miyagiing TradFi into adopting crypto-native properties, one wax-on at a time. We'll get there eventually.
Wayne Collier retweeted
No, aggregate properties of private assets, such as total supply cap, cannot be verified by every user on Canton yet. If this is the main criticism of Canton, I wholeheartedly accept it!
All of the claims people are throwing on X about Canton not being decentralized, not being cryptographically verifiable, and requiring complete trust in institutions are red herrings. Your observation is the only correct critique of Canton I've seen yet.
I agree that publicly proving aggregate amounts is a desired property and that all transparent chains have it. zkSync Prividiums also have it, under the assumption that the entire ZKP stack works as advertised. Canton does not (yet) have this property.
Now that we've distilled it to the core property that Canton lacks, we can talk about why the importance of it is completely overblown, and why this hasn't been a concern in practice for any users:
(1) Many privacy assets on Canton have decentralized BFT issuers. You're not trusting any single institution; you're trusting a BFT consensus. A single honest Validator can report and cryptographically prove dishonest behavior.
(2) For asset-backed tokens, Canton has the same trust model as transparent public chains. You ALREADY rely completely on an independent auditor to review that the aggregate amount on-chain equals the off-chain amount. Those same auditors cryptographically and independently audit the on-chain amount in Canton. We're already trusting stablecoin providers + their auditors to maintain the on- vs off- chain reserves, so the trust model on Canton is exactly the same! But Canton makes it much better - we're moving to a world where tokenized US Treasuries are on-chain, so the auditor gets cryptographic independent verification of the peg. If anything, Canton is the ONLY blockchain bringing on-chain cryptographic verifiability of RWA reserves! Repo transactions on Canton are the only repo transactions in the world where there's distributed cryptographic verification that your asset is fully backed!
(3) For fully dematerialized assets, the registrar is legally allowed to change the aggregate amount. The important thing is that it's auditable by the issuer, not that it's publicly auditable. If DTCC tells you that Tesla has 3.3b shares outstanding, even if you could verify that aggregate number on-chain, can you independently verify that that's the correct amount? Only Tesla can say whether that number is correct so they're the only voice that matters from a trust-model perspective.
All that said, I agree that publicly proving aggregate properties is a nice-to-have. But it's never been desirable enough to justify the trade-off of adding significant complexity to the software stack. Running a Canton Validator in a TEE would be dead simple and give you that property (with different trust assumptions), yet in practice, no one seems to think it's important enough to justify even that modest investment. This is actually one area where retrofitting ZKPs on top of Canton would not be very hard!
By relaxing this single requirement, Canton has been able to add many other security properties.
nitter.gq/DejaRu22/status/192990…
Wayne Collier retweeted
What if we brought $CC burn to private subnets? :shock:
Great points in this thread. Canton has high burn on the Global Synchronizer today, and it's also true that there's a lot of traffic going through the private synchronizers that doesn't burn $CC yet.
The private subnets want to link to each other, and they'll do that over the Global Synchronizer (public layer). That interop will burn $CC.
You'll see the volume of these transactions among private subnets scale up on the public rails throughout the year. The transactions will remain private, but they'll burn $CC to use the gSync as their interop / transit layer.
Wayne Collier retweeted
Missed @Wesarn_real LIVE from the Empire State with @TheRollupCo?
Eric breaks down how Canton was designed to move beyond the private vs public chain tradeoff, and discusses the network’s tokenomics and governance structure.
Catch the replay.
nitter.gq/i/broadcasts/1qKDzPvoP…
Wayne Collier retweeted
SOFR yields 3.66%. SOFR stands for Secured Overnight Funding Rate, in other words the interest rate that you pay to borrow against Treasuries in traditional financial markets. The ability to transact on those terms is coming soon to @CantonNetwork via the tokenization of Treasuries by @The_DTCC. Borrowing against Treasuries at 7% is not financial innovation. It’s a ripoff.
Wayne Collier retweeted
Seeing a lot of debate lately on whether Canton is "permissionless" or "public." Canton is public and permissionless - but it's permissionless like the Internet, not like Ethereum. 🧵
Wayne Collier retweeted
Today is a day more than a decade in the making — and a wake-up call for anyone who still thinks blockchain doesn’t matter. Tokenized USTs on Canton by @The_DTCC mark a fundamental shift in how markets will operate going forward. The transformation is accelerating, and this is just the start. Congrats to @The_DTCC, @digitalasset, and @CantonNetwork.
coindesk.com/business/2025/1…
Wayne Collier retweeted
We’re pleased to share an important governance milestone for the Canton Network.🎊
@The_DTCC will take a leadership position within the Canton Network’s decentralized governance structure, joining the Canton Foundation as co-chair alongside @EuroclearGroup!
As co-chair, DTCC will help further enhance standards for institutional grade tokenization on @CantonNetwork, reinforcing Canton’s role as neutral, open infrastructure for global capital markets.
This builds on the DTCC's groundbreaking initiative announced with @digitalasset to enable the tokenization of DTC-custodied securities, starting with U.S. Treasuries on Canton.
Wayne Collier retweeted
Minting and using U.S. Treasuries on Canton is coming in 2026, enabling tokenized USTs to be exchanged in near-real-time with stablecoins and other digital assets - all with the privacy and controls regulated markets demand.
A major unlock for global collateral mobility to accelerate settlement, reduce risk, and optimize balance sheets.
Learn more: dtcc.com/digital-assets/toke…
@The_DTCC @DigitalAsset
