> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.catalyx.solutions/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.catalyx.solutions/catalyx-blockchain-manager/canton-network/version-1.10/getting-started/canton-network-introduction.md). # Canton Network Introduction ## What is Canton? Canton is a Daml ledger interoperability protocol. Parties hosted on different participant nodes can transact using smart contracts written in Daml and the Canton protocol. The Canton protocol allows connecting different Daml ledgers into a single virtual global ledger. Daml, as the smart contract language, defines who is entitled to see and who is authorized to change any given contract. The Canton synchronization protocol enforces these visibility and authorization rules, and ensures that data is shared reliably with very high levels of privacy, even in the presence of malicious actors. The Canton network can be extended without friction with new parties, ledgers, and applications building on other applications. Extensions require neither a central managing entity nor consensus within the global network. ## Benefits of Canton Network ### Distributed Apps from Scratch Building distributed applications from scratch offers numerous advantages, including improved workflow automation, reduced errors, enhanced security, and effective auditing in regulated industries. To build an application that automates a cross-organization workflow, one must devise and correctly implement a set of rules for exchanging data (i.e., a communication protocol). Today's standards help with transporting data (e.g., REST, gRPC) and describing its shape (e.g., XML schemas, session types), as well as handling authentication (e.g., X.509, TLS). But implementing the protocol logic remains a non-trivial task. For example, an estimated 10% of the trade volume in stock markets is subject to manual intervention (reconciliation), due to mismatches and mistakes in interpreting the exchanged data. A smart contract platform solves the problem of diverging implementations by providing a shared data encoding and execution logic for the protocol. The security of cross-organization distributed applications critically depends on proper authorization, and Canton's design addresses this from the ground up. ### Integrating Applications Business workflows often need to be composed into higher-level workflows, but their software implementations typically do not easily achieve the desired properties. For instance, in a travel agency workflow that combines booking a flight and a hotel, it is crucial to ensure atomicity of distributed transactions — the flight and hotel should be booked together or not at all. This atomicity is only possible if both the airline and the hotel systems build in specific and compatible support for it. Standards such as X/Open XA exist, but they have to be correctly implemented by all involved subsystems, including their off-the-shelf components. Canton provides this coordination natively. ### Scalability Platforms relying on proof-of-work blockchains sacrifice scalability: their throughput is typically limited to tens of transactions per second, and the historic data required to use the platform securely often grows unboundedly with time. Canton avoids replicating a global shared state at all participants. State changes are only shared with the participants who need to see them, which removes the global throughput cap and enables horizontal scaling. ### Privacy A global shared state is also a privacy leak that is unacceptable for use cases such as handling trade secrets, financial data, or healthcare. It also clashes with the data minimization requirements of the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Canton enforces that each participant only receives the subset of data it is entitled to see, with no encrypted copies of other parties' data stored locally. This subtransaction-level privacy model makes Canton suitable for regulated industries without requiring expensive cryptographic techniques. {% hint style="info" %} For more information, see the [Daml official documentation](https://docs.daml.com/). {% endhint %} --- # Agent Instructions This documentation is published with GitBook. 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