BERLIN, November 12, 2025 — The Cardano Summit 2025 opened today in Berlin with a strong focus on enterprise blockchain adoption and digital governance. To mark the event, the Cardano Foundation unveiled a major research report commissioned with the Blockchain Research Institute (BRI), titled “Introducing Digital Trust Infrastructure: The Foundation for the New Digital Economy.”


Joachim Schwerin
Principal Economist at European Commission

The report, which over 1,000 summit attendees are among the first to access, introduces a comprehensive framework for Digital Trust Infrastructure (DTI) — a next-generation model for secure, interoperable, and privacy-preserving digital ecosystems.

A Blueprint for the New Digital Economy

Drawing lessons from successful public digital frameworks such as India Stack, MOSIP, X-Road, and the EU Digital Identity (EUDI) initiative, the report outlines how DTI could serve as a neutral and vendor-agnostic layer for verifying identities, permissions, and data. Much like traditional infrastructure—roads, railways, or telecommunications—DTI aims to embed trust as a core component of digital architecture.

The research identifies four key transformations enabled by DTI:

  • A shift from the “collect and store” data model to a “request and verify” approach.

  • Implementation of hybrid, verifiable credentials that safeguard both privacy and accountability.

  • Introduction of embedded intelligence operating on verified data for high-stakes, auditable use cases.

  • Establishment of governance and trust registries to ensure consistent, standards-based digital operations across sectors and borders.

“A Step Toward Enterprise-Ready Blockchain”

“We are excited to launch this timely report with the Blockchain Research Institute as we move one step closer to bringing DTI to every enterprise,” said Frederik Gregaard, CEO of the Cardano Foundation. “Whether it’s reducing administrative processing times in government departments by 60% or cutting permit approval times in Italy from three weeks to just hours — this research reinforces our belief that blockchain can drive meaningful global change.”

The Foundation emphasized that advancing Cardano as public digital infrastructure remains central to its mission, promoting tools and frameworks that enable trust, resilience, and interoperability.

“Embedding trust into digital architecture is the next step in enabling a secure, efficient, and scalable digital economy,” added Douglas Heintzman, Chief Catalyst at BRI and lead author of the report. “Digital Trust Infrastructure transforms organizations from fragile systems into privacy-preserving, resilient models of collaboration and compliance.”

Global Leaders Converge in Berlin

The two-day summit has drawn prominent names from blockchain, enterprise, and policymaking circles. Among the featured speakers are Frederik Gregaard (Cardano Foundation), Joachim Schwerin (European Commission), Don Tapscott (BRI), Patrick Tobler (Masumi), Tim Draper

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