The Cardano Foundation Joins the MiCA Crypto Alliance
The MiCA Crypto Alliance is pleased to welcome the Cardano Foundation as a new member. As part of this collaboration, the Alliance has authored a MiCA-compliant white paper for ADA, the native asset of the Cardano protocol. Independently prepared by the Alliance and and with input from the Foundation, the ADA white paper will be published as a public resource to support MiCA disclosure requirements.
About the Cardano Foundation
The Cardano Foundation is an independent, Swiss-based, not-for-profit organization tasked with advancing Cardano as a public digital infrastructure across industries. The Foundation develops infrastructure tooling, strengthens operational resilience, and drives real-world use cases and sound governance.
Cardano is a public, proof-of-stake Layer-1 blockchain launched in 2017. It has been designed with a focus on sustainability, scalability, and interoperability. ADA, its native token, is intrinsic to the protocol: it secures the network through staking, pays transaction fees, and enables participation in the blockchain’s governance.
Why this matters
MiCA requires that a white paper be published for crypto-assets admitted to trading on a crypto-asset trading platform (CATP). For ADA, one of the largest crypto-assets by market capitalization and among the most actively traded, the availability of a MiCA-compliant white paper provides an important reference point for the entire industry. The ADA white paper is designed to support CATPs in meeting their disclosure obligations when admitting ADA to trading or offering the asset to the public. It also serves as a reference framework for token issuers and offerors drafting their own MiCA-compliant white papers.
While other MiCA white papers have already been published by trading platforms, MiCA Crypto Alliance white papers are different. First, the Alliance makes consent to re-use this white paper freely available to any trading platforms seeking to admit ADA to trading, whereas some white paper preparers leverage MiCA Article 5(4)(b) to charge for consent. Second, the white paper is written in accordance with the Alliance's enterprise-grade standards of quality and diligence, as MiCA Crypto Alliance white papers stand out as best-in-class in the industry.
Separately, the Alliance is updating the MiCA white paper template for Cardano-based tokens published by the Cardano Foundation and developed in collaboration with law firms Lawside and Cerha Hempel. This template was one of the first practical resources for MiCA compliance. The update builds on this foundation and aligns the template with the latest Regulatory Technical Standards (RTS) adopted by the European Commission under MiCA, while enhancing clarity, consistency, and usability.
Looking ahead
The Alliance’s collaboration with the Cardano Foundation demonstrates how blockchain foundations, compliance experts, and legal practitioners can work together to provide high-quality, standardized resources for the market. By supporting crypto-asset providers (CASPs), token issuers, and offerors, the Alliance helps reduce costs, improve consistency, and align the industry with evolving regulation.
The ADA white paper and the updated Cardano MiCA template will be published shortly as public resources to support MiCA implementation. Further details will be announced in due course.
