Overview
ODATANO is a data service that lets software teams read blockchain records and prepare blockchain transactions using OData, a common data standard that business software such as SAP already speaks1. A company's existing systems can look up blocks, addresses and tokens, or set up a transfer, without its developers first learning how blockchains store data2. Now in beta, the service also gives AI assistants a direct way to read and act on the chains it covers3.
ODATANO covers two chains through two parts. ODATANO CORE handles Cardano, where it reads blocks, addresses and stake pools and builds ADA, token and smart contract transactions, smart contracts being programs that run on the blockchain1. NIGHTGATE handles Midnight, a privacy-focused chain, where it records proof that a document existed and creates zero-knowledge attestations, which prove a fact about a hidden value without revealing the value itself1. Maximilian Weber, a Frankfurt-based SAP developer, built ODATANO2, and Project Catalyst, Cardano's community funding program, funded its SAP integration for Cardano in Fund 144.
Key Features
- One key for both chains. The hosted ODATANO API uses a single access key for Cardano, Midnight and a shared analytics service, and the first key comes with free calls after a Cardano wallet sign-in1.
- Private keys stay with the user. The server builds Cardano transactions unsigned for signing in a browser or hardware wallet, the Cardano command-line tool or a hardware security module, a tamper-resistant key device2. On Midnight, the hosted API refuses server wallets, and a client package signs on the user's own machine5,6.
- Ready-made tools for AI assistants. Two MCP servers, built on an open standard that lets assistants such as Claude or Cursor use outside tools, let an agent read both chains, build transactions and anchor documents3.
- Midnight actions without holding NIGHT. A sponsor pays the network fees on Midnight, so users can anchor documents or send private transfers without first acquiring NIGHT or DUST, the tokens Midnight normally uses for fees1.
- Plug into SAP or run it yourself. Developers can add the open-source packages to an app built on SAP's CAP framework, or run them standalone with Docker, and keep the same addresses they used on the hosted service7,8.
What to Expect
For business developers, especially those who already work with SAP, ODATANO turns blockchain data into tables and actions they already know how to query. The Get Started guide offers four routes in: the hosted API, AI agents, the SAP plugin and a standalone install7. Short quickstart guides walk through a first test transfer on Cardano, a first anchored document on Midnight and a first AI agent setup, each taking a few minutes9.
During the beta, the hosted API runs on Cardano and Midnight test networks, practice copies of each chain that use free test tokens instead of real ADA1. That makes it a place to build and try integrations before handling real funds. Calls go through a bearer key in each request, and an online reference lists every route with its parameters9.
For readers outside development, the ODATANO site shows apps built on top of it, such as digital battery passports for the EU battery rules and pharmaceutical batch tracking1. Code for the Cardano and Midnight packages is public on GitHub under the Apache 2.0 license8,10. In an interview on the Cardano Developer Portal, the creator explains why he chose OData as the bridge between SAP systems and Cardano2.
