Cardano Foundation spins out Veridian, first equity on CIP-0113

The Cardano Foundation has spun out its digital-identity project, Veridian, as an independent Swiss company and tokenized most of its 1 million shares on the Cardano blockchain — the first live use of the network's new CIP-0113 programmable-token standard. Unveiled by the foundation this week, CIP-0113 lets issuers attach rules to a token, including who may receive it and whether it can be frozen, seized or restricted — features aimed at regulated stablecoins, funds and tokenized securities.

Veridian, led by former foundation engineer Thomas A. Mayfield, uses the KERI and ACDC open standards to issue credentials that let people, businesses and AI agents prove identity and authority without a central database. Its wallet is live on iOS and Android, it has mapped Utah's digital-identity requirements, and the Masumi AI-agent payment network already uses its credentials. The tokenized shares are not offered to the public; Veridian plans to seek strategic investors in 2027.