Visa and Apollo Approved as Canton Super Validators, With Up to 10 and 7 Weight
Visa calls itself the first major global payments company in the role; both programs are milestone based, with rewards held in escrow and the commitments kept confidential.
Visa said on 25 March 2026 that it will join the Canton Network as a Super Validator, two days after the Canton Foundation approved its proposal. A day after Visa's approval, the Foundation also approved Apollo, the alternative asset manager, as a Super Validator.
Visa
CIP-0109, "Visa Super Validator Participation", was created on 20 March and approved on 23 March 2026. It sets up a milestone-based program under which Visa can earn Super Validator weight of up to 10, accruing to escrow. The deliverables are confidential and will not be published until the Foundation and Visa decide it is appropriate.
In its release, dated San Francisco, Visa said:
- it is the first major global payments company to serve as a Super Validator, and one of 40 on Canton;
- it will help clients that choose to run operations on Canton, with stablecoin payments, settlement and treasury use cases;
- it remains chain-agnostic.
Visa also said its stablecoin settlement had reached an annualised run rate of $4.6 billion, across more than 130 stablecoin-linked card programmes in more than 50 countries. Rubail Birwadker, Visa's Global Head of Growth Products and Strategic Partnerships, said: "Many banks see the lack of privacy as a dealbreaker." The release also quotes Eric Saraniecki, Head of Network Strategy at Digital Asset.
The Block reported that Canton's website listed 42 Super Validators at the time, and that the approval came three days after Visa's submission.
Apollo
CIP-0110, "Add Apollo as max weight 7 SV", was created on 19 March and approved on 24 March 2026. It gives Apollo a performance-based program to earn up to 7 weight by delivering initiatives that unlock alternative markets, enable new collateral types and drive institutional participation on Canton. The CIP says Apollo's participation is expected to support the tokenization of fund products, their use as collateral, and financing applications. Specific commitments are confidential. CantonCap did not find an announcement from Apollo itself.
How the weight works
As with other recent approvals, the full weight sits with an escrow party that does not mint rewards. Each institution presents proof of a milestone to the Foundation's Tokenomics Working Group, and weight is released when Super Validator operators approve it.
Why it matters
Visa runs one of the world's largest payment networks, and Apollo, according to its CIP, managed about $938 billion at the end of 2025. Their approvals in the same week extend Canton's Super Validator set into card payments and private credit. Because the milestones are confidential and the rewards escrowed, the effect on Canton Coin issuance depends on deliverables the public cannot yet see.
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