The Canton Foundation today announced the launch of the Canton Developer Certification, which is the official certification program for the Canton Network smart contract language Daml 3. This program consists of self-paced courses and certification exams, providing a structured path for developers worldwide to build applications for regulated financial markets.

The Canton Network is a public, permissionless blockchain specifically designed for regulated finance, currently processing over $60 trillion in on-chain assets across supported applications. With publicly accessible courses, this certification enables developers from any background to bring their smart contract and application development expertise into the regulated on-chain finance space.

Daml is specifically designed to manage two fundamental requirements of financial applications: controlling who has the authority to act on contracts and who can access contract terms. This certification validates developers' ability to apply these principles in practice, helping them demonstrate their proficiency in the authorization and privacy principles essential for institutional-grade applications in regulated financial markets. By establishing recognized official standards for Daml, the Canton Foundation aims to enhance institutional confidence in the applications built on the network.

This project is based on Daml 3 and Canton 3.x, which are the current technologies forming the foundation of the Canton Network. It allows developers newly engaging with Canton to start directly from the latest technology stack, helps engineers deepen their professional skills for building production-grade applications, and enables architects to design and integrate Canton deployment solutions. Existing Daml 2 developers can also migrate their skills and codebases to Daml 3, thereby driving the developer community towards a single, up-to-date platform.

For Canton ecosystem partners, including financial institutions, application providers, system integrators, and validators, this certification provides a common technical foundation and a consistent method for assessing developers' understanding of authorization and privacy requirements. This project reflects the Canton Foundation's commitment to the long-term development of the network, as the foundation lays the groundwork for Canton to continually expand into more asset classes and markets.

Amanda Martin, Chief Operating Officer of the Canton Foundation, said: “Financial institutions need assurance that the applications they rely on are built by developers who understand the requirements of regulated markets. Through this certification program, we are not only opening opportunities for global developers to build applications on Canton but also establishing a set of common professional standards. By fostering community convergence on Daml 3, we are building a more solid foundation for Canton’s future growth.”

The Canton Developer Certification is now live, details can be found at certification.canton.foundation. The courses are self-paced and open to all developers for free, with a certification exam fee of $150 per session.

About Canton Foundation

The Canton Foundation is an independent non-profit organization responsible for the governance and long-term development of the Canton Network's shared infrastructure. The foundation supports transparent and decentralized governance, ecosystem coordination, and extensive participation of Global Synchronizer operators and network stakeholders, helping to ensure that Canton remains a reliable, fair, and trusted foundation for institutional-grade blockchain applications. The foundation also collaborates with financial institutions, technology providers, developers, and other ecosystem participants to support the ongoing growth and adoption of the Canton Network globally.