Canton Improvement Proposal

A Canton Improvement Proposal is the formal mechanism for changing how the Canton Network's shared infrastructure works. Anyone with a stake in the network can draft a CIP describing a change, whether technical, economic, or procedural, and the proposal is discussed publicly before the network's governing participants vote on it.

The scope of past and typical proposals ranges widely: adjustments to Canton Coin minting schedules and reward weights, changes to traffic fee parameters, admission standards for super validators, and upgrades to the Global Synchronizer's protocol. Because the Global Synchronizer is operated jointly by many independent super validators rather than one company, the CIP process is what keeps changes legitimate and coordinated.

For anyone holding or trading Canton assets, CIPs are the paper trail worth reading. The current behavior of rewards, fees, and issuance is not fixed forever; it is whatever the ratified proposals say it is. When documentation about Canton Coin economics differs from observed behavior, a recently adopted CIP is often the explanation.