How Canton Wallets Differ from Web3 Wallets

Documentation Index

Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.canton.network/llms.txt Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

How Canton Wallets Differ from Web3 Wallets

Understanding the key differences between Canton and traditional crypto wallets

Canton wallets work differently from Web3 wallets like MetaMask. This page explains the key differences and what they mean for users and developers.

Fundamental Differences

Privacy Model

Web3: Public by Default

On Ethereum, your wallet:

• Has a public address anyone can see
• Shows balance to anyone who queries
• All transactions visible on block explorers
• Transaction patterns analyzable

Anyone can query: 0x123...abc has 45.67 ETH
Anyone can see: 0x123...abc sent 5 ETH to 0x456...def

Canton: Private by Default

On Canton, your wallet:

• Has a party identifier visible only to you
• Balance visible only to you (and entitled parties)
• Transactions visible only to participants
• No public transaction history

Only you can see: Your party has 100 CC
Only participants see: You transferred 20 CC to another party

Transfer Capabilities

Canton wallets support transfer patterns not possible in traditional wallets.

Multi-Step Transfers

Traditional transfer: Send X now.

Canton supports complex workflows:

Pre-Approvals

Allow another party to withdraw up to a certain amount:

flowchart LR
    A[Alice] --> |pre-approve 100 CC| B[Bob]
    B --> |withdraw 50 CC when needed| A

    Note[Bob can withdraw up to 100 CC<br>without Alice's per-transaction approval]

Use cases:

• Subscription payments
• Recurring transfers
• Automated application flows

Allocations

Reserve tokens for a specific purpose:

flowchart TB
    WALLET[Your Wallet<br>100 CC]
    ALLOC[Allocated<br>30 CC for Trade]
    FREE[Available<br>70 CC]

    WALLET --> ALLOC
    WALLET --> FREE

Use cases:

• Trade settlement
• Escrow arrangements
• Multi-step workflows

Delivery vs. Payment (DvP)

Atomic exchange of different assets:

flowchart LR
    subgraph Atomic[Single Atomic Transaction]
        A1[Alice sends CC] --> |atomic| B1[Bob sends Asset]
    end

    Note[Either both happen or neither happens]

Why this matters:

• No settlement risk
• No trust required between parties
• Complex exchanges in single transaction

Connection Model

Web3: Any RPC

Web3 wallets connect to any compatible RPC endpoint:

• Infura, Alchemy, or self-hosted
• Can switch providers freely
• Any node can answer queries

Canton: Your Validator

Canton wallets connect to a specific validator:

• The validator hosting your party
• Can’t freely switch (party is hosted somewhere specific)
• Only your validator has your data

flowchart TB
    subgraph Web3[Web3 Model]
        W1[Wallet] --> RPC1[RPC 1]
        W1 --> RPC2[RPC 2]
        W1 --> RPC3[Any RPC]
    end

    subgraph Canton[Canton Model]
        W2[Wallet] --> VAL[Your Validator]
        VAL --> |hosts| PARTY[Your Party]
    end

Identity Model

Web3: Address-Based

• Address derived from public key
• Anyone can generate addresses
• Pseudonymous (address is identity)

Canton: Party-Based

• Party identifier tied to validator hosting
• Party creation involves validator
• Not pseudonymous in the same way

Explorer Differences

Web3: Global Explorer

Block explorers show all network activity:

• Any transaction
• Any address balance
• Any contract state

Canton: Personal Explorer

Canton explorers show your activity:

• Your transactions only
• Your balances
• Your contracts

Implications for Users

Implications for Developers

Next Steps

Mirrored from Canton Network official documentation (CC-BY-4.0) by CC Privacy Club for learning purposes.