COTI’s use has changed a lot over the years and that’s not a bad thing. What started as a payment token is now powering something far more specific: confidential computing on Ethereum. In COTI V2, the token isn’t just floating around for speculation. It’s doing work.
Here’s how COTI is actually used:
- Gas for Private Computation
COTI is spent to execute smart contracts that use garbled circuits - a cryptographic method that lets you process data without exposing it. That means you can run apps where logic stays private, even on a public blockchain. - Treasury Staking
Users can lock their COTI into the Treasury and earn a share of protocol rewards. The Treasury is the protocol’s financial core, it helps secure the network, allocate resources, and eventually tie into governance decisions. - Governance (Coming)
As governance expands, stakers will be able to vote on things like protocol upgrades, reward rates, and grant allocations, all powered by COTI holdings. - Payments (Legacy)
COTI was originally used in payment systems like ADA Pay, and still plays a role in merchant-based tools built during its early days. It also supports the operational backend of Djed, Cardano’s stablecoin.
So the use of COTI now is about enabling systems, not just sending tokens.
You’re not just transferring value. You’re paying for encrypted logic to run securely. You’re staking to back a privacy protocol, not just earning interest. You’re holding a piece of a utility layer, not a speculative flyer. That’s the shift. That’s the use.
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