Cardano's CIP-113, a proposed standard for programmable tokens, was merged into the blockchain's main improvement-proposal repository on September 29. The proposal introduces issuer-controlled transfer rules for native assets without abandoning Cardano's eUTXO model, a structure that differs from the account-based systems used by Ethereum and most other smart-contract platforms.
The Cardano Foundation frames programmable tokens as infrastructure for regulated financial assets — stablecoins, securities, and real-world assets that may need transfer restrictions and freezes. CIP-113's official page still lists the proposal as 'Proposed.' Activation requires issuance on Preview and mainnet, end-to-end testing, and support from a widely adopted wallet.
What 'programmable' means on Cardano
On Cardano, a transaction output can hold multiple tokens alongside ADA. Spending that output consumes it as a unit. That design creates a problem for regulated assets: a restriction on one programmable token can block the entire transaction, including unrelated tokens and ADA.
CIP-113 addresses this with an 'unfracking' mechanism. It separates one token policy from the rest of an output without changing ownership, allowing unrelated assets to move if the transaction is permitted. Unfracking requires the holder's authorization and must satisfy the affected token's registered separation rules. Those rules can demand an additional signature, impose script conditions, or block restructuring entirely.
Matteo Coppola, CEO of Fluid Tokens and a CIP-113 contributor, said the merge followed years of development and puts the framework in the hands of Cardano projects. The reference implementation preserves balances of unrelated token policies during authorized third-party actions, meaning an issuer's control over one asset does not grant ownership of other assets in the same output.
New risks for wallets and DeFi
For wallets and DeFi applications, asset ownership alone may no longer determine immediate spendability. How tokens are grouped in an output — and what separation permissions apply — becomes part of the risk of holding or accepting them.
ADA can become temporarily inaccessible when it shares an output with a restricted programmable token. That adds complexity for wallets because displayed balances may not reflect what can be spent immediately. A user might see a balance that looks available, only to find a transaction blocked by a restriction on a different asset in the same output.
The CIP-113 reference implementation describes single-policy outputs as the preferred construction. The validator does not require developers to use them, though. That leaves room for projects to design outputs in ways that could expose users to the unfracking rules — or avoid the issue altogether by keeping tokens separated.
Still proposed, not active
The merge into the main repository is a milestone, but it doesn't activate the standard. CIP-113 remains listed as 'Proposed' on its official page. Three things still need to happen: issuance on Preview and mainnet, end-to-end testing, and support from a widely adopted wallet.
Until then, the standard exists as a framework that projects can build toward, not a live feature that users will encounter on mainnet tomorrow. The Cardano Foundation's positioning suggests the target is institutional issuance — the kind of assets that need compliance controls baked into the token itself rather than enforced by an off-chain intermediary.
Whether wallets adopt single-policy outputs by default, and how quickly a major wallet signals support, will determine when CIP-113 moves from 'Proposed' to something users actually see. For now, the proposal sits in the repository, waiting on the testing and wallet support that would bring it to life.
