Cardano's mainnet now supports programmable compliance rules baked directly into native tokens. The upgrade, known as CIP-0113, went live at 03:00 UTC on October 7, 2026, after being approved by the network's community. It lets issuers attach rules like allow lists, deny lists, freezes, and seizures to tokens — all enforced on-chain during transfers, minting, and burning.
No hard fork was required. The standard works with existing native assets and relies on a reference implementation written in Aiken that uses Cardano's stake credentials and withdraw-zero pattern.
How the compliance modules work
Under CIP-0113, issuers don't modify the core protocol. Instead, they attach independent smart contract modules that follow a validation interface. These modules run every time a token moves. The system evaluates the rules once per transaction, so execution costs stay predictable even as transaction size grows.
The base payment credential and minting policy of a token are permanent. Compliance logic, however, can be updated in place without reissuing the token — a key difference from older approaches that forced a new deployment for every rule change. Changing the base credential would create a different token entirely.
Because tokens sit at a shared script address and ownership is tracked by stake credentials, the compliance script executes on each transaction. That means a freeze or seizure isn't just a database entry — it's enforced by the ledger itself.
What issuers can do now
Stablecoins, bonds, shares, and other securities can now carry transfer restrictions that were previously impossible on Cardano without a bespoke sidechain or a centralized intermediary. Issuers can select from existing modules or write their own. The reference implementation is open source, so anyone can build a compliant module and reuse the validation interface.
CIP-0113 builds on CIP-0143, which separated the core validator from asset-specific policy. That separation is what allows third parties to create modules without touching the base protocol.
The trade-offs for DeFi and wallets
Programmable compliance cuts both ways. A token with freeze-and-seize capabilities isn't the same as an unregulated native asset. DeFi protocols are being advised to inspect a token's compliance module before accepting it as collateral. If a token can be frozen at the issuer's discretion, lending markets and automated market makers need to price that risk.
Wallets, explorers, and indexers also have work to do. They must accurately display compliance rules so users know what they're holding. Integration guides have been published, and partners including BendingAI, CardanoScan, Eternl, GeroWallet, and BloxBean are already working on support.
The upgrade puts Cardano in a different category from chains that treat all tokens as fungible and rule-free. It's a bet that regulated assets will come on-chain — but only if the compliance layer is native and enforceable.
What happens next
With the mainnet launch complete, the focus shifts to adoption. Issuers building stablecoins or securities can start deploying compliant tokens today. DeFi teams need to update their risk checks. Wallet providers have integration work to finish. The first real test will be whether a major regulated asset launches on Cardano with CIP-0113 rules — and whether the market accepts the trade-off between compliance and censorship resistance.
