MiCA Crypto-Asset White Paper – CHEQ (cheqd Network) | Cheqd Foundation Limited
In accordance with Regulation (EU) 2023/1114 (MiCA) and Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2024/2984 — Table 2 (Utility Token / Other Crypto-Asset)
Person Seeking Admission to Trading: Cheqd Foundation Limited (Singapore) | Token: CHEQ (cheqd Network) | Date of notification: 13 April 2026 | Filing type: Admission to Trading
Table of Contents
- General Information
- Part A – Offeror / Person Seeking Admission to Trading
- Part B – Issuer (if different from offeror)
- Part C – Operator of Trading Platform (if applicable)
- Part D – Information about the Crypto-Asset Project
- Part E – Information about the Offer to Public or Admission to Trading
- Part F – Information about the Crypto-Asset
- Part G – Rights and Obligations Attached to the Crypto-Asset
- Part H – Information on Underlying Technology
- Part I – Information on Risks
- Part J – Sustainability Indicators
General Information
Date of Notification (Field 01):
2026-04-13
Statement in accordance with Article 6(3) (Field 02):
This crypto-asset white paper has not been approved by any competent authority in any Member State of the European Union. The person seeking admission to trading of the crypto-asset is solely responsible for the content of this crypto-asset white paper.
Compliance Statement in accordance with Article 6(6) (Field 03):
This crypto-asset white paper complies with Title II of Regulation (EU) 2023/1114 of the European Parliament and of the Council and, to the best of the knowledge of the management body, the information presented in the crypto-asset white paper is fair, clear and not misleading and the crypto-asset white paper makes no omission likely to affect its import.
Statement in accordance with Article 6(5)(a),(b),(c) (Field 04):
The crypto-asset referred to in this crypto-asset white paper may lose its value in part or in full, may not always be transferable and may not be liquid.
Statement in accordance with Article 6(5)(d) (Field 05):
The utility token referred to in this crypto-asset white paper may not be exchangeable against the goods or services for which it was issued, especially in the case of failure or discontinuation of the crypto-asset project.
Statement in accordance with Article 6(5)(e) and (f) (Field 06):
The crypto-asset referred to in this crypto-asset white paper is not covered by the investor compensation schemes under Directive 97/9/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council or the deposit guarantee schemes under Directive 2014/49/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council.
Warning in accordance with Article 6(7) (Field 07):
Warning: This summary should be read as an introduction to the crypto-asset white paper. The prospective holder should base any decision to acquire this crypto-asset on the content of the crypto-asset white paper as a whole and not on the summary alone. The admission to trading of this crypto-asset does not constitute an offer or solicitation to purchase financial instruments and any such offer or solicitation can be made only by means of a prospectus or other offer documents pursuant to the applicable national law. This crypto-asset white paper does not constitute a prospectus as referred to in Regulation (EU) 2017/1129 of the European Parliament and of the Council or any other offer document pursuant to Union or national law.
Characteristics of the Crypto-Asset (Field 08):
The CHEQ token is the native utility token of the cheqd Network, a public Layer-1 blockchain built on the Cosmos SDK for decentralised digital identity. CHEQ allows its holders to: pay transaction fees for writing W3C Decentralised Identifiers (DIDs) and DID-Linked Resources to the network; participate in on-chain governance; delegate tokens to validators in exchange for staking rewards. A governance-configurable proportion of fees is permanently burned. CHEQ is freely transferable subject to vesting restrictions on early allocations. No redemption right to fiat currency exists.
Information about Goods/Services (Utility Tokens) (Field 09):
CHEQ tokens give access to: (1) DID writes on the cheqd ledger at USD 2.00 equivalent per write, settled in CHEQ at market rate; (2) DID-Linked Resource writes (credential schemas, revocation registries) at USD 0.10 per resource; (3) cheqd Studio API programmatic access. There are no restrictions on the quantity of transactions a holder may perform. Tokens are freely transferable once fully vested.
Offer Description (Field 10):
This white paper is published for admission of CHEQ to trading on KuCoin EU Exchange under MiCA. No new offer to the public is being made. CHEQ has been in circulation since TGE November 2021 (total genesis supply: 1,000,000,000 CHEQ; circulating supply as of April 2025: approx. 1,004,000,000 CHEQ). CHEQ is currently traded on KuCoin (non-MiCA), Gate.io, MEXC, Bitmart, Osmosis DEX and Uniswap v3. Admission to KuCoin EU Exchange under MiCA provides holders access to a MiCA-regulated trading venue and hope to use this for other new listings as well as comply with existing listings where MiCA compliance becomes relevant. No firm-commitment placement agent has been currently engaged.
Beginning of period to which disclosed information relates:
2021-11-23
End of period to which disclosed information relates:
2026-04-12
Part A – Information about the Offeror or Person Seeking Admission to Trading
A.1 Name:
Cheqd Foundation Limited
A.2 Legal Form (if no LEI) (ISO 20275 ELF code):
Not applicable — LEI provided in A.6.
A.3 Registered Address (if no LEI):
2 Venture Drive, #19-18 Vision Exchange, Singapore 608526
A.4 Head Office (if different from registered address and no LEI):
2 Venture Drive, #19-18 Vision Exchange, Singapore 608526
A.5 Registration Date:
2021-10-18
A.6 Legal Entity Identifier (LEI):
254900JJPRIV008Q7D28
A.7 Another Identifier (national, if no LEI):
ACRA UEN: 202136203G (Cheqd Foundation Limited, Singapore)
A.8 Contact Telephone Number:
+44 7912436449
A.9 E-mail Address:
A.10 Response Time (Days):
15
A.11 Parent Company (if no LEI):
None
A.12 Members of the Management Body of the Offeror
Report one row per management body member using the typed-dimension context pattern.
| Identity (Name) | Business Address | Function / Role |
|---|---|---|
| Fraser Edwards | 2 Venture Drive, #19-18 Vision Exchange, Singapore 608526, Singapore | Director / Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer |
| Javed Khattak | 2 Venture Drive, #19-18 Vision Exchange, Singapore 608526, Singapore | Director / Co-founder and Chief Financial Officer |
| Nicholas Racz | 2 Venture Drive, #19-18 Vision Exchange, Singapore 608526, Singapore | Director / Advisor |
A.13 Business Activity:
Cheqd Foundation Limited is a company limited by guarantee, incorporated in Singapore (ACRA UEN: 202136203G, incorporated on 18 October 2021). The Foundation is responsible for the maintenance of the cheqd Network and for contracting suppliers to maintain and develop the network infrastructure, protocol and ecosystem.
A.14 Parent Company Business Activity:
Not applicable. Cheqd Foundation Limited has no parent company.
A.15 Newly Established (within past 3 years)?
false
A.16 Financial Condition for Past 3 Years:
Cheqd Foundation Limited is a Singapore-incorporated public company limited by guarantee and acts as the offeror seeking admission to trading in respect of the crypto-asset described in this white paper. Over the past three financial years, the Foundation has maintained a stable operating and liquidity position. Its principal sources of funding during the period were token-related revenues, and its principal expenditure categories were network development, network maintenance, community engagement, token governance and partner engagement/support/deployment on the network.
The statutory audit opinions for FY2022, FY2023 and FY2024 were unqualified and so, in the auditor’s opinion provided a true and fair value of the business. The financial statements for those periods were prepared on a going concern basis. As at the date of this white paper, the Foundation is not aware of any material uncertainty that would cast significant doubt on its ability to continue as a going concern.
No unusual or infrequent events materially affected the Foundation’s income from operations during the period.
A.17 Financial Condition Since Registration (if newly established):
Not applicable. Cheqd Foundation Limited was incorporated on 18 October 2021 and has been operating for more than three years as of the date of this white paper.
Part B – Information about the Issuer (if different from Offeror)
B.1 Issuer Different from Offeror?
false
Not applicable — the issuer and the person seeking admission to trading are the same entity (B.1 = false). Fields B.2–B.12 are not required.
B.2 Name of Issuer:
Not applicable.
B.3 Legal Form:
Not applicable.
B.4 Registered Address:
Not applicable.
B.5 Head Office:
Not applicable.
B.6 Registration Date:
Not applicable.
B.7 Legal Entity Identifier (LEI):
Not applicable.
B.8 Another Identifier (national):
Not applicable.
B.9 Parent Company:
Not applicable.
B.10 Members of the Management Body of the Issuer
Not applicable.
B.11 Business Activity of Issuer:
Not applicable.
B.12 Parent Company Business Activity:
Not applicable.
Part C – Information about the Operator of Trading Platform (if applicable)
Complete Part C only when the operator of a trading platform draws up this whitepaper.
C.1 Name of Operator:
Not applicable
C.2 Legal Form (if no LEI):
Not applicable
C.3 Registered Address (if no LEI):
Not applicable
C.4 Head Office (if different and no LEI):
Not applicable
C.4b Head Office Country Subdivision (state/province if applicable):
Not applicable
C.5 Registration Date:
Not applicable
C.6 Legal Entity Identifier (LEI):
Not applicable — no operator draws up this whitepaper.
C.7 Another Identifier (national, if no LEI):
Not applicable
C.8 Parent Company of Operator (if no LEI):
Not applicable
C.8b Reason for Preparation of This White Paper:
Not applicable. This whitepaper is drawn up by Cheqd Foundation Limited as issuer, not by an operator of a trading platform.
C.9 Members of the Management Body of the Operator
| Identity | Business Address | Function |
|---|---|---|
| Not applicable | Not applicable | Not applicable |
C.10 Business Activity of Operator:
Not applicable.
C.11 Parent Company Business Activity (Operator side):
Not applicable.
C.12 Reason for Drawing Up the White Paper (Operator):
Not applicable. This whitepaper is drawn up by Cheqd Foundation Limited as issuer of CHEQ tokens.
C.13 Other Persons Drawing Up White Paper:
None. Drawn up solely by Cheqd Foundation Limited.
C.14 Relevant Legal Entity Identifier (Issuer LEI reported by Operator):
254900JJPRIV008Q7D28 (Cheqd Foundation Limited) — not applicable as this whitepaper is drawn up by the offeror/issuer, not by an operator.
Part D – Information about the Crypto-Asset Project
D.1 Project Name:
cheqd Network
D.2 Crypto-Asset Name (if no DTI):
CHEQ
D.3 Abbreviation / Ticker (if no DTI):
CHEQ
D.4 Project Description:
The cheqd Network is a public Layer-1 blockchain (Cosmos SDK, chain ID: cheqd-mainnet-1) purpose-built for decentralised digital identity.
It enables creation, management and monetisation of W3C-compliant Decentralised Identifiers (DIDs) and Verifiable Credentials.
Mainnet launched 23 November 2021; TGE 26 November 2021. Approximately 37 active validators as of the date of this white paper.
Supports IBC cross-chain interoperability and the did:cheqd W3C DID method. Digital Token Identifier (DTI, ISO 24165): 1P50MSVXL. Functionally Fungible Group DTI: HZNZ1PR6D.
D.5 Details of All Persons Involved in Project Implementation
| Type of Person | Name | Business Address | Company Domicile |
|---|---|---|---|
| Advisor (former Co-founder and CTO) | Ankur Banerjee (Ex Co-founder and CTO) | 2 Venture Drive, #19-18 Vision Exchange, Singapore 608526, Singapore | United Kingdom |
D.6 Utility Token Classification:
true
D.7 Key Features of Goods/Services (Utility Token Projects):
cheqd Network identity services:
(1) DID writes (USD 2.00/write) — create/update did:cheqd identifiers per W3C DID Core 1.0.
(2) DID-Linked Resource writes (USD 0.10/resource) — publish credential schemas, AnonCreds method definitions, status lists and revocation registries on-chain.
(3) cheqd Studio API (studio.cheqd.io) — managed REST API for programmatic DID and Verifiable Credential operations supporting W3C VC Data Model 2.0 and AnonCreds.
(4) on-chain governance participation via staking and voting; (5) Cosmos IBC interoperability enabling cross-chain identity resolution from other Cosmos SDK blockchains.
D.8 Plans for the Token (Milestones):
October 2021: Cheqd Foundation Limited incorporated in Singapore.
November 2021: cheqd Network mainnet launch (chain ID: cheqd-mainnet-1).
November 2021: Token Generation Event (TGE) — 1,000,000,000 CHEQ genesis supply issued.
April 2022: Gravity Bridge deployed — CHEQ ERC-20 token live on Ethereum (contract: 0x70EDF1c215D0ce69E7F16FD4E6276ba0d99d4de7)
2022: AnonCreds ledger-agnostic verifiable credential method published.
2023: IBC v2 protocol upgrade enabling cross-chain identity resolution.
2023–2024: cheqd Studio API publicly launched (studio.cheqd.io) — managed REST API for credential issuance and verification.
September 2024: Alliance with Dock — cheqd Foundation entered a strategic alliance with Dock to accelerate global adoption of decentralised identity; Dock’s verifiable credential platform integrated support for the cheqd Network, enabling issuers to anchor credentials and schemas on cheqd; the token merger was approved on 18 September 2024.
2024: Integration with C2PA/Coalition for Content Authenticity and Integrity for content provenance use cases.
May 2025: Partnership with Anonyome Labs — Anonyome Labs, developer of privacy-focused identity and messaging software, partnered with cheqd to integrate the cheqd Network as trust infrastructure within its identity products.
October 2025: Dock Labs, cheqd’s alliance partner, collaborated with GSMA, Telefónica Tech and TMT ID on a proof-of-concept to reinvent call-centre authentication using verifiable credentials anchored on the cheqd Network. 2025: Partnership with ASI Alliance for AI agent verifiable identity.
March 2026: Anonyome Labs and Utah Valley University — Anonyome Labs partnered with Utah Valley University to pilot the issuance of verifiable academic credentials to students using cheqd Network as the underlying trust layer, demonstrating the network’s applicability in higher education.
Feb 2026: Oracle stable pricing release on consensus layer – During consensus, validators vote on the most accurate CHEQ/USDC price, with quotes coming from multiple sources.
Simple Moving Averages (SMA), Weighted Moving Averages (WMA), and Exponential Moving Averages (EMA) to pinpoint an appropriate price point.
Smart fallback price calculation – system falls back to persisted values maintained via an Interchain Query (ICQ) to a Time-Weighted Average Price (TWAP) feed.
Ongoing: Continue the development of our infrastructure, our SDK’s, and support in partner platforms.
Ongoing: Maintain the network to the latest security patches and best practices.
Ongoing: Tailor the network to Agentic ID use-cases as required.
Ongoing: Maintain market scan for other technologies.
D.9 Resource Allocation:
The genesis allocation, as detailed in official Tokenomics Part 2, breaks down as follows: 5.5% (55M) to Community & grants (10% immediate liquidity, 1-year vesting), 29.3% (293M) to the Foundation (3.4% immediate, 5-year vesting), 10.2% (102M) to Contributors – Team (0% immediate, 4-year vesting), 5.0% (50M) to Contributors – Advisors (0% immediate, 2-year vesting), and 50% total to Shareholders across three tranches (45.4% Tranche 0 with 9% immediate and 2-year vesting; 1.3% Tranche 1 and 3.3% Tranche 2 with 10% immediate and 1-year vesting each). Overall immediate liquidity at TGE was approximately 6.29%.
D.10 Planned Use of Collected Funds or Crypto-Assets:
The Foundation’s resources are applied to:
(i) Contracting suppliers for cheqd Network protocol maintenance and development.
(ii) Validator ecosystem support and incentives; (iii) legal and MiCA regulatory compliance.
(iv) Community pool governance stewardship. No funds are being raised under this white paper, which relates solely to admission to trading of the existing CHEQ token.
Part E – Information about the Offer to Public or Admission to Trading
E.1 Public Offering or Admission to Trading:
Admission to Trading
E.2 Reasons for Public Offer or Admission:
Cheqd Foundation Limited seeks admission of CHEQ to trading on KuCoin, MiCA-authorised LEI 529900B4G0EGK7Z9KT45, to provide EEA holders with access to a regulated trading venue for the CHEQ utility token. CHEQ has been in circulation since TGE on 26 November 2021. Admission to a MiCA-regulated CASP ensures transparency, investor protection, and compliance with Regulation (EU) 2023/1114 for EEA market participants. No new public offering of CHEQ is being made pursuant to this white paper.
E.3 Minimum Subscription Goal (in currency):
0 EUR
E.3 alt. Minimum Subscription Goal (in crypto-asset units, if applicable):
0 DTI: 1P50MSVXL
E.4 Maximum Subscription Goal (in currency):
0 EUR
E.4 alt. Maximum Subscription Goal (in crypto-asset units, if applicable):
0 DTI: 1P50MSVXL
E.5 Fundraising Target (in currency):
0 Not applicable — admission to trading, no fundraising target.
E.5 alt. Fundraising Target (in crypto-asset units, if applicable):
0 DTI: 1P50MSVXL
E.6 Oversubscription Accepted?
false
E.7 Oversubscription Allocation Procedure:
Not applicable. No oversubscription acceptance was set for the CHEQ offering.
E.8 Issue Price:
0
E.9 Currency Determining Issue Price:
EUR
E.9 alt. Other Crypto-Asset Determining Issue Price (DTI, if not official currency):
N/A
E.10 Subscription Fee (in currency):
0 EUR
E.10 alt. Subscription Fee (in crypto-asset units, if applicable):
0 DTI: 1P50MSVXL
E.11 Offer Price Determination Method:
Not applicable. This white paper relates to admission to trading of an already-circulating token, not a new offer to the public. No issue price is being set. CHEQ has been trading on secondary markets since TGE on 26 November 2021.
E.12 Total Number of Offered or Traded Crypto-Assets:
1000000000
E.13 Targeted Holders:
All Types of Investors
E.14 Holder Restrictions:
CHEQ is not offered to persons in jurisdictions where prohibited by law.
E.15 Reimbursement Notice:
false Not applicable — this white paper is for admission to trading, not a public offer. No minimum subscription goal exists and no reimbursement obligation arises under Article 13(5) MiCA.
E.16 Refund Mechanism:
Not applicable — admission to trading. No subscription goal and no refund mechanism exist.
E.17 Refund Timeline:
Not applicable — admission to trading.
E.17a Value Transfer Methods for Reimbursement:
Not applicable — admission to trading.
E.18 Offer Phases:
CHEQ has been in circulation since TGE on 26 November 2021 (1,000,000,000 CHEQ genesis supply; 54,200,000 CHEQ publicly distributed at TGE). The token is currently traded on KuCoin (non-MiCA) and secondary markets including Gate.io, MEXC, Bitmart, Osmosis DEX and Uniswap v3 (ERC-20). No new public offer is being made.
E.19 Early Purchase Discount:
Not applicable — this white paper is for admission to trading of an existing token. No new offer to the public is being made and no early purchase discount exists.
E.20 Is the Offer Time-Limited?
false
E.21 Subscription Period – Start Date:
Not applicable — admission to trading.
E.22 Subscription Period – End Date:
Not applicable — admission to trading.
E.23 Safeguarding Arrangements for Offered Funds / Crypto-Assets:
Not applicable — no funds are being raised under this white paper. CHEQ is a non-custodial token; holders maintain self-custody via Cosmos wallets (Keplr, Leap) or exchange accounts. The offeror does not hold or safeguard purchaser tokens acquired on secondary markets. KuCoin EU Exchange applies its own MiCA-compliant safeguarding arrangements as the trading venue CASP.
E.24 Payment Methods for Purchase:
This white paper is published in connection with an application for admission of CHEQ to trading on a MiCA-regulated CASP. CHEQ is not currently listed on any MiCA-regulated venue. Existing secondary market trading is available on KuCoin (non-MiCA), Gate.io, MEXC, BitMart; OSMO pair on Osmosis DEX; USDT pair on Uniswap v3 (ERC-20 CHEQ via Gravity Bridge). No tokens are being sold directly by the person seeking admission to trading under this white paper.
E.25 Right of Withdrawal:
Not applicable. The right of withdrawal under Article 13 MiCA applies only to offers to the public. This white paper is made for admission to trading of an already-circulating token; no public offer is made and accordingly no withdrawal right arises against the offeror.
E.26 Transfer of Purchased Crypto-Assets:
CHEQ tokens held in self-custody Cosmos-compatible wallets or via exchange custodial accounts. ERC-20 wrapped CHEQ available via Gravity Bridge for Ethereum-compatible wallets (contract: 0x70EDF1c215D0ce69E7F16FD4E6276ba0d99d4de7). Settlement is immediate (T+0) upon exchange transaction confirmation.
E.27 Transfer Time Schedule:
Immediate (T+0) upon exchange settlement. Cosmos block time approx. 6 seconds.
E.28 Technical Requirements for Purchasers:
Holders must: hold a Cosmos-compatible wallet or Ethereum-compatible wallet for ERC-20 CHEQ; complete KYC/AML requirements of the exchange used; and maintain sole custody of their private keys where self-custodying. Lost private keys cannot be recovered — tokens held in self-custody wallets are permanently inaccessible if keys are lost.
E.29 Purchase or Sale Modalities:
CHEQ purchased and sold on supported centralised or decentralised exchanges. No minimum or maximum purchase size. Purchasers subject to exchange terms and conditions. Secondary market purchases carry no right of withdrawal against the offeror.
E.30 CASP Name (Service Provider for Placing):
KuCoin EU Exchange, LEI 529900B4G0EGK7Z9KT45.
E.31 CASP LEI:
529900B4G0EGK7Z9KT45
E.32 Placement Form:
Without a Firm Commitment Basis
E.33 Trading Platform Name:
KuCoin EU Exchange
E.34 Trading Platform Identifier (MIC):
N/A
E.35 Access to Trading Platform:
CHEQ is seeking admission to trading on KuCoin EU Exchange. Access via kucoin.com or the KuCoin Pro trading interface following completion of KuCoin’s standard onboarding and KYC process.
E.36 Costs Involved in Trading:
KuCoin standard spot trading fees apply. Cosmos network gas fees paid in CHEQ for on-chain transactions (typically less than USD 0.01 per transaction).
E.37 Offer Expenses:
Not applicable — this white paper is for admission to trading, not a new public offer. Exchange listing and MiCA compliance costs are operational expenses of Cheqd Foundation Limited funded from its operational reserves; no offer expenses are charged to token purchasers.
E.38 Potential Conflicts of Interest:
None
E.39 Applicable Law Governing the Offer:
This crypto-asset white paper has been notified to the Central Bank of Ireland as the competent authority of the home Member State (Ireland) in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2023/1114 (MiCA). The contractual and civil law obligations of the offeror arising from the offer to the public or the admission to trading of the CHEQ token are governed by the laws of England and Wales, without prejudice to the mandatory provisions of Regulation (EU) 2023/1114 (MiCA) and any applicable Irish law.
E.40 Competent Court for the Offer:
Exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales for contractual disputes, subject to: (i) the supervisory jurisdiction of the Central Bank of Ireland as home member state competent authority under MiCA; and (ii) mandatory consumer protection rights in the holder’s jurisdiction of residence within the EEA.
Clarification Regarding Offer Terms:
false
Part F – Information about the Crypto-Asset
F.1 Type of Crypto-Asset:
Utility Token (native Cosmos SDK token, cheqd-mainnet-1)
F.2 Functionality:
CHEQ functions as:
(1) Payment for DID write fees (USD 2.00/DID, USD 0.10/resource, settled in CHEQ at market rate)
(2) Staking to validators for block rewards.
(3) Governance voting.
(4) Deflationary burns (governance-configurable % of fees permanently burned).
(5) Community pool funding.
F.3 Planned Application of Functionalities:
All primary functions live on cheqd-mainnet-1 as of this whitepaper date. cheqd Studio API at studio.cheqd.io. IBC cross-chain identity operational. Future: ZK proof verification, AI agent identity integration.
F.6 Crypto-Asset Characteristics:
Token: CHEQ.
Ticker: $CHEQ.
Chain: cheqd-mainnet-1 (Cosmos SDK).
Native denom: ncheq (1 CHEQ = 1,000,000,000 ncheq).
Max supply: 1,000,000,000 CHEQ.
Circ. supply (Apr 2025): approx. 1,004,000,000 CHEQ.
ERC-20 on Ethereum: 0x70EDF1c215D0ce69E7F16FD4E6276ba0d99d4de7.
Inflation: 1-4% pa (governance-adjustable).
Burn factor: governance-adjustable.
DTI: 1P50MSVXL. FFG DTI: HZNZ1PR6D.
F.7 Commercial / Trading Name of Issuer (if no DTI):
cheqd
F.8 Website of the Issuer:
F.9 Starting Date of Offer to Public / Admission to Trading:
2021-11-26
F.10 Publication Date of White Paper:
2026-04-13
F.11 Other Services Provided by Issuer:
cheqd Studio (studio.cheqd.io) – managed API for credential issuance/verification, developer SDKs (Veramo, Aries/Credo), support.cheqd.io. None constitute regulated financial services under EU law.
F.12 Language(s) of the White Paper:
en
F.13 Digital Token Identifier (DTI):
1P50MSVXL
F.14 FFG Digital Token Identifier:
HZNZ1PR6D
F.15 Voluntary Data Flag:
false
F.16 Personal Data Flag:
false
F.17 LEI Eligibility:
true
F.18 Home Member State:
Ireland
F.19 Host Member States:
Part G – Information on Rights and Obligations Attached to the Crypto-Asset
G.1 Purchaser Rights and Obligations:
Rights:
(1) Pay DID/resource write fees.
(2) Stake to validators for rewards.
(3) Governance voting (1 CHEQ = 1 vote).
(4) Transfer freely (subject to vesting). Obligations: compliance with holder jurisdiction law; self-custody responsibility. No dividends, profit share, capital return, or ownership interest in CHEQD LABS LIMITED.
G.2 Exercise of Rights and Obligations:
Fee rights exercised via Cosmos SDK transactions. Staking via Keplr, Leap or Cosmostation wallets or cheqd Studio API. Governance: submit/vote during 7-day voting window with staked CHEQ; minimum deposit 8,000 CHEQ to submit proposals. Transfer via standard Cosmos SDK tx.
G.3 Conditions for Modification of Rights and Obligations:
Rights modified only through on-chain governance. Proposal requires 8,000 CHEQ deposit. Passes if: quorum 33.34% of staked CHEQ votes; more than 50% Yes (excl. abstentions); fewer than 33.34% Veto. 2-day timelock after passing. Fundamental supply cap changes require a hard fork.
G.5 Future Public Offers:
No future public offering planned. Max supply 1,000,000,000 CHEQ fixed at genesis. New tokens only via block rewards within 1-4% inflation range. Burn mechanism targets long-term equilibrium at the 1B cap.
G.6 Number of Crypto-Assets Retained by the Issuer:
250000000
G.7 Utility Token Classification:
true
G.8 Utility Token Redemption / Exchangeability:
CHEQ redeemable for cheqd Network services: DID writes via MsgCreateDIDDoc tx (USD 2.00 in CHEQ at market rate); resource writes via MsgCreateResource tx (USD 0.10 in CHEQ at market rate); Studio API via studio.cheqd.io subscription. Services available continuously. No formal redemption window.
G.9 Supply Adjustment Protocols?
true
G.10 Supply Adjustment Mechanisms:
(1) Inflationary minting: block rewards at 1-4% pa (governance-adjustable), targeting 66% bonding ratio.
(2) Deflationary burns: governance-configurable burn factor applied to DID and resource write fees, permanently destroying a portion of fees to offset inflation and target equilibrium at 1,000,000,000 CHEQ cap.
G.11 Value Protection Schemes?
false
G.12 Description of Value Protection Schemes:
Not applicable.
G.13 Compensation Schemes?
false
G.14 Description of Compensation Schemes:
Not applicable. CHEQ is not covered by investor compensation or deposit guarantee schemes.
G.15 Transfer Restrictions:
Foundation allocation: 29.3% (293M) (3.4% immediate, 5-year vesting), 10.2% (102M) to Contributors – Team (0% immediate, 4-year vesting) are subject to 4-year linear vesting with 1-year cliff, enforced on-chain via Cosmos SDK continuous vesting accounts. Unvested tokens cannot be transferred but may be staked. Investor allocations similarly vested. Upon full vesting, no restrictions beyond applicable law.
G.16 Key Features of Goods and Services (Utility Tokens):
Key identity service features: (1) DID resolution free of charge via Universal Resolver and cheqd RPC; (2) DID writes per W3C DID Core; (3) DID-Linked Resources: schemas, AnonCreds definitions, status lists, revocation registries; (4) IBC: identity data queryable from other Cosmos chains.
G.17 Non-Trading Request Indicator:
false
G.18 Applicable Law Governing the Token:
CHEQ token governed by Regulation (EU) 2023/1114 (MiCA) and Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2024/2984. For MiCA regulatory purposes, the home member state is Ireland (competent authority: Central Bank of Ireland). Contractual rights and obligations attached to the token are otherwise governed by the laws of England and Wales.
G.19 Competent Court for Token-Related Disputes:
Exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales for contractual disputes relating to the token, subject to: (i) the supervisory jurisdiction of the Central Bank of Ireland as MiCA home member state competent authority; and (ii) mandatory statutory rights of holders within the EEA.
Part H – Information on Underlying Technology
H.1 Distributed Ledger Technology (if no DTI):
cheqd Network is a public Layer-1 blockchain using Cosmos SDK (v0.46+) and CometBFT (formerly Tendermint BFT) consensus. Chain ID: cheqd-mainnet-1. Permissionless Delegated Proof of Stake with ~37 active validators. Supports IBC for cross-chain interoperability. All DIDs and DID-Linked Resources stored directly on-chain.
H.2 Use of Distributed Ledger Technology:
true
H.3 Protocols and Technical Standards:
W3C DID Core 1.0 (did:cheqd); W3C Verifiable Credentials Data Model 2.0; AnonCreds (Hyperledger Aries / Credo); IBC (Inter-Blockchain Communication); Cosmos SDK governance, staking and distribution modules; Gravity Bridge (Ethereum ERC-20 bridge); DIF Universal Resolver; C2PA (Coalition for Content Provenance and Authenticity).
H.4 Consensus Mechanism:
Delegated Proof of Stake (DPoS) via CometBFT (formerly Tendermint BFT). CHEQ holders delegate to ~37 active validators. BFT finality in ~3 seconds. Two-thirds supermajority of voting power required for block finality. Slashing: 5% for double-signing; 0.01% downtime.
H.5 Incentive Mechanisms and Applicable Fees:
Validator/delegator rewards:
(1) Block inflation rewards (1-4% pa, governance-adjustable).
(2) Transaction fees for network compute distributed to node operators and stakers minus burn factor.
(3) Validator commission (typically 5-10%).
(4) Community pool receives configurable fee share.
H.6 DLT Functionality:
cheqd Network:
(i) Immutable storage of DIDs and DID-Linked Resources.
(ii) Decentralised governance for protocol changes.
(iii) Staking/reward distribution.
(iv) IBC cross-chain identity resolution.
(v) Native CHEQ token issuance, transfer and burn.
H.7 Technology Used:
Stack: Cosmos SDK (Go), CometBFT consensus. Open source: github.com/cheqd/cheqd-node (Apache 2.0). ~37 validators on diverse cloud/bare-metal. IAVL+ Merkle state storage. Block height >24M as of April 2026. Public RPC/gRPC endpoints available.
H.8 Has the Technology Been Audited?
false
H.9 Audit Outcome (if audited):
No formal third-party security audit published as of this whitepaper date. Codebase is open source at github.com/cheqd/cheqd-node. Cosmos SDK base layer has been audited by independent firms for other projects using the framework.
Part I – Information on Risks
I.1 Offer-Related Risks:
Market risk: CHEQ is highly volatile; price declined from USD 0.72 at TGE to USD 0.003 (March 2026); holders may lose all or most of their investment. Admission risk: KuCoin EU Exchange may decline, suspend or revoke admission to trading, which could impair secondary market access for EEA holders. Regulatory risk: MiCA and other frameworks may impose additional requirements on the issuer or exchanges, potentially restricting or suspending trading.
I.2 Issuer-Related Risks:
Key person risk: the Foundation’s operations are dependent on its founding directors; the Foundation has its processes and technology documented with appropriate risk registers that specialist replacements can continue the operations of the Foundation in the instance there is loss of either. Funding risk: the Foundation operates on a non-profit basis as a company limited by guarantee and has no concept of profit or shareholder returns; its operational sustainability depends on its token reserve position, network transaction fee income directed to the Foundation, and the continued adoption of cheqd Network services. It continues to explore other avenues of revenue generation for sustaining the network and delivering on its objectives as a Foundation. Insolvency risk: CHEQ holders have no claim on Foundation assets in the event of dissolution; the Foundation’s assets are applied solely to its objects and cannot be distributed to members. Operational risk: the Foundation relies on a small number of contracted suppliers and third-party infrastructure providers; failure or disruption of key suppliers could affect network maintenance and service availability. However, there is sufficient expertise available to replace suppliers should it be necessary. In addition, the Foundation aims to maintain and develop mission critical items in-house as far as possible.
I.3 Crypto-Asset-Related Risks:
Value risk: CHEQ may lose value in part or in full. Utility risk: depends on cheqd Network adoption. Governance risk: token holder proposals may alter economics adversely. Inflation risk: ongoing block rewards (1-4% pa) dilute holdings. Competition: alternative identity networks (Indy, ION, ERC-725) compete for market share.
I.4 Project Implementation-Related Risks:
Partnership risk: integrations and support within software and / or tooling subject to partner roadmaps. Examples of software and tooling: Credo, ACA-Py, Veramo, Leap Wallet, Kepler, etc.
I.5 Technology-Related Risks:
Validator centralisation: concentration of stake could enable censorship or collusion.
Network attack: BFT tolerates fewer than 1/3 Byzantine validators; more than 1/3 could halt network. Protocol upgrade: hard forks may introduce bugs.
Bridge risk: Gravity Bridge smart contract exploits could affect ERC-20 CHEQ. Key loss: lost wallet keys result in permanent loss.
Key loss: lost wallet keys result in permanent loss.
I.6 Mitigation Measures for Technology Risks:
Validator centralisation: geographic/organisational diversity incentivised through Treasury delegation programme.
Network attack: See Validator centralisation mitigation.
Bridge risk: Bridge has been security audited by multiple reputable firms. Bridge is not critical for network function.
Oracle price feed risk: Feed is decentralised across 2-3 independent and hence redundant price feeds. Pricing algorithm has fallback mechanism which will function even if price feeds are stopped, albeit pricing will decouple from market.
Key loss: Clear instructions are distributed to any network users. Tooling (e.g. wallets) are made available to users to minimise risk of key loss.
Part J – Information on Sustainability Indicators
J.1 Adverse Impacts on Climate and Environment:
cheqd Network uses Delegated Proof of Stake (DPoS) via CometBFT, significantly more energy-efficient than Proof of Work. Principal adverse impacts: (i) electricity use by ~37 validator nodes (est. 18.5 MWh/year aggregate, based on medium dedicated VPS instances with cheqd recommended hardware: 6 GB RAM, 3 vCPU at 2.0 GHz x64); (ii) WEEE from validator server hardware. No specialised mining hardware. Electricity is included as part of VPS hosting fees (no separate purchase). No direct Scope 1 combustion emissions.
Name of Reporting Entity (Sustainability context):
Cheqd Foundation Limited
Relevant LEI (Sustainability context):
254900JJPRIV008Q7D28
Name of Crypto-Asset (Sustainability context):
CHEQ (cheqd Network)
Consensus Mechanism Sustainability Description:
DPoS via CometBFT uses ~99.99% less energy than Proof of Work. No ASICs or GPUs required. Network achieves BFT finality in ~3 seconds without energy-intensive PoW computation. Validators typically operate on standard cloud servers or efficient bare-metal hardware.
Incentive Mechanisms and Applicable Fees (Sustainability context):
Validator rewards (block inflation 1-4% pa + fee share) incentivise efficient, high-uptime infrastructure without energy-intensive computation. Fee burn mechanism reduces circulating supply. No proof-of-work mining rewards exist.
Mandatory: Energy and GHG Indicators
Energy Consumption (kWh):
85.00
Energy Sources and Methodologies:
Estimated at 18,500 kWh (18.5 MWh) per year, based on approximately 37 active validators averaging 500 kWh per validator per year. The 500 kWh per validator estimate is derived from the cheqd Network recommended minimum hardware specification (6 GB RAM, 3 vCPU at 2.0 GHz x64), representing a mid-range server draw of approximately 57 W continuous across 8,760 operating hours. No specialised mining hardware (ASICs or GPUs) is used; the network uses Delegated Proof of Stake (DPoS) via CometBFT consensus. Methodology: GHG Protocol Corporate Accounting and Reporting Standard (World Resources Institute / WBCSD, 2004, revised 2015). Emission conversion factor: 500 gCO₂e/kWh (IEA global average grid emission factor, 2023 edition). Sources: cheqd node documentation (hardware requirements), cloud provider sustainability disclosures. Actual figures are estimates pending systematic validator data collection; figures will be updated as operational data becomes available. [Estimated data]
GHG Scope 1 Emissions (tCO2e, controlled):
0.00
GHG Scope 2 Emissions (tCO2e, purchased):
9.25
GHG Scope 3 Emissions (tCO2e, value chain):
1.85
Supplementary Key Indicators on Energy and GHG Emissions
Renewable Energy Consumption (%):
Energy Intensity:
Key Energy Sources and Methodologies:
N/A
Carbon Intensity (tCO2e per unit of output):
GHG Intensity:
Key GHG Sources and Methodologies:
N/A
GHG Emissions Reduction Targets or Commitments:
N/A
Optional: Additional Environmental Indicators
Energy Mix Percentage (%):
Energy Use Reduction Target (absolute value):
Energy Use Reduction Target (%):
Waste Generated, All Types (tonnes):
Waste Intensity, All Types:
Non-recycled Waste Ratio, All Types (%):
Waste Reduction Targets or Commitments:
N/A
Waste, Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) (tonnes):
Non-recycled WEEE Ratio (%):
Hazardous Waste Generated (tonnes):
Water Use (m3):
Non-recycled Water Ratio (%):
Natural Resources Use Reduction Targets or Commitments:
N/A
Impact of Equipment Use on Natural Resources:
N/A
Sources and Methodologies
Other Energy Sources and Methodologies:
No additional energy sources. Methodology reviewed annually.
Other GHG Sources and Methodologies:
N/A
Waste Sources and Methodologies:
N/A
Natural Resources Sources and Methodologies:
N/A
This white paper was prepared by Cheqd Foundation Limited (ACRA UEN: 202136203G, Singapore) in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2023/1114 (MiCA) and Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2024/2984. iXBRL markup: ESMA MiCA White Papers Taxonomy 2025 v1.0.0. LEI 254900JJPRIV008Q7D28 is the confirmed LEI of Cheqd Foundation Limited. Home member state: Ireland (Central Bank of Ireland, as competent authority of first MiCA-regulated trading venue). Sustainability figures are estimates pending formal data collection.