The Cardano Foundation has officially launched Veridian, an independent Swiss company, marking a significant milestone as it tokenizes its shares using Cardano's new programmable-token standard.
Veridian makes history as the inaugural user of Cardano’s programmable-token standard for equity, although its tokenized shares are currently not available to the public.
Veridian, which is based in Switzerland, will focus on creating tools for governments, businesses, and AI agents to verify identities and manage online activities without needing a centralized database. The company is led by Thomas A. Mayfield, a blockchain engineer who previously worked on decentralized identity solutions at the Cardano Foundation. The foundation indicated that Veridian plans to attract strategic investors by 2027.
“Veridian is the first to tokenize its own shares on the new CIP-0113 that we announced yesterday,” stated Frederik Gregaard, CEO of the Cardano Foundation and chair of Veridian, in an email to CoinDesk. He confirmed that out of a total of one million shares, most have been tokenized. “People have talked about tokenized equity for years, and now there’s an operating company on Cardano doing it.”
This development provides Cardano with its first practical application of the programmable-token framework introduced earlier this week. The CIP-0113, or Cardano Improvement Proposal 0113, allows issuers to set conditions on tokens, including restrictions on who can receive them and provisions for freezing or seizing assets when necessary.
These capabilities are tailored for regulated financial products such as stablecoins and tokenized securities, where issuers may need to enforce identity verification or comply with legal orders during asset transfers. Veridian's tokenized shares exemplify a real-world application of this standard.
Veridian employs open technical standards known as KERI and ACDC to create digital credentials, enabling individuals, businesses, and software agents to establish their identity or authority without relying on a central repository of information.
According to the Cardano Foundation, Veridian's mobile wallet is now live for both iOS and Android platforms, and it has aligned with Utah's digital identity requirements, following the implementation of SB 275 in May that established a State Endorsed Digital Identity Program.
Gregaard noted that the separation of Veridian from the nonprofit foundation was driven by the Utah framework and the increasing demand for identity verification of AI agents acting on behalf of individuals or organizations.
Masumi, a payment and identity network for AI agents built on Cardano by Serviceplan Group and NMKR, is already utilizing Veridian. This collaboration allows users to confirm an agent's credentials before processing payments and revoking access if necessary. “AI agents will need verifiable identity too,” he remarked. “Veridian can serve that market better as its own company.”