The Cardano Foundation announced a new token standard on October 7, 2026. The standard, called CIP-0113, is now live on the Cardano mainnet and lets issuers of regulated tokens freeze seize, and restrict holdings when the rules require it. Compliance rules are enforced directly by the Cardano ledger rather than by an outside server.

CIP-0113 gives token issuers new powers. They can freeze holdings, seize them, and restrict who is allowed to receive the asset. The standard is built for regulated financial products, including stablecoins, tokenized funds, and bonds.

Most crypto tokens can move freely between any two wallets. That openness is a problem for banks and fund managers who must follow identity and sanctions rules. CIP-0113 addresses this by building the rules into the token itself. The network checks those rules before approving any transfer, which means compliance travels with the asset rather than depending on outside checks. A fund that only sells to verified investors, for example, could block a transfer to someone who has not passed identity checks. A stablecoin issuer could stop its tokens from reaching a sanctioned wallet address. In both cases, the token's own rule set decides whether a transfer goes through.

Cardano tokens can now be frozen, says the Cardano Foundation. Its new CIP-0113 standard lets issuers of stablecoins, funds and bonds on $ADA block, freeze or seize holdings when the rules require it. Like this post. It's the only thing on Cardano they can't seize. pic.twitter.com/lLi4WTLKjV

— Altcoin Buzz (@Altcoinbuzzio) October 7, 2026

How the Rules Are Enforced

The enforcement does not happen through a company dashboard or an outside server. The Cardano ledger itself validates the rules every time a token is minted, burned, or transferred. This means the restrictions apply no matter which wallet or service a holder uses. The Cardano Foundation said the upgrade did not require a hard fork, since it uses features already built into the network.

"The rules have to travel with the asset and be enforced every time it moves," Cardano Foundation chief executive Frederik Gregaard said in a statement. The comment framed the change as a way to keep restrictions in force wherever the asset moves.

Modular Design and Industry Support

CIP-0113 is not one fixed rulebook. It uses a core standard combined with smaller modules that issuers can customize or swap over time. An issuer can start with a basic rule set and adjust individual modules as its needs change.

Several tools already support the standard. These include the wallets Eternl and GeroWallet, the blockchain explorer CardanoScan, and developer tool provider BloxBean.

Other blockchains have similar systems. Ethereum has a permissioned token standard called ERC-3643, Solana offers transfer controls through token extensions, and the XRP Ledger allows issuers to restrict holders and claw back balances.

The Capital Markets and Technology Association (CMTA), a Swiss industry group, has also recognized CIP-0113 tokens. The group said the tokens meet standards comparable to its framework used for issuing tokenized shares in Switzerland.

Development on the standard began in 2023, meaning the proposal spent roughly three years in the works before it was formally merged into the Cardano Improvement Proposals repository on September 29, 2026. It went live on mainnet about a week later, during the TOKEN2049 conference.

A Wrinkle in Cardano's Design

Cardano's technical design creates one complication. Its ledger structure can hold several different tokens in a single shared transaction output, similar to cash stuffed into one envelope. If an issuer restricts one token sitting in that shared output, other tokens in the same output could get caught up in the restriction. CIP-0113 addresses this through a mechanism the Foundation calls "unfracking."

Even with that safeguard, wallets and decentralized finance platforms will still need to handle restricted and unrestricted tokens carefully when bundling them together. The Foundation's technical notes also tell lending platforms to review a token's rules before accepting it as collateral, since some rule sets allow an authorized party to move tokens without the holder's consent. With the standard now live on mainnet, that integration work across wallets and DeFi platforms is the practical next step to watch.

ADA Is Not Affected

ADA itself is not affected by these changes and remains a freely transferable asset. Only tokens whose issuers choose to adopt CIP-0113 carry the new restrictions.

ADA's price fell 4.5% over the past 24 hours, matching a broader decline across the crypto market.

Source: CoinCentral