Local fintech to issue stablecoin

John Kavanagh

Payment company Novatti will issue an Australian dollar-backed stablecoin to add to its suite of payment offerings.

The company announced yesterday that the stablecoin, AUDC, will be secured with the 1:1 backing of Australian dollar fiat value and will be issued on the XRP Ledger. 

Blockchain and crypto solutions company Ripple will provide technical support.

Novatti chief executive Peter Cook said in a statement that AUDC will enable faster and lower-cost domestic, cross-border and billing payments, as well as stablecoin-linked payment cards.

Novatti has worked with XRP before, setting up cross-border payments from Australia to the Philippines last year.

The collapse in the value of “algorithmic” stablecoin terra last month, which prompted a cryptocurrency sell-off, has not deterred others from pursuing developments in the sector.

ANZ, which executed a bank-issued Australian dollar stablecoin payment for a client in March, has said it plans to offer its stablecoin, A$DC, to more of its corporate clients.

In March, the bank minted 30 million Australian dollar stablecoins using an ANZ-built ethereum virtual machine and delivered the stablecoin for Victor Smorgon Group via Zerocap, a wealth management firm specialising in digital assets. 

The coins were transferred between the parties and later redeemed back into fiat currency.

ANZ banking services lead Nigel Dobson said in a statement: “This was an efficient and direct way for Victor Smorgon Group to access Zerocap’s digital asset exchange and move funds across a decentralised network.”

Speaking at the AFR Banking Summit earlier this month, Dobson said A$DC will be extended to enable clients to buy a broad range of digital assets with Australian dollars. He said the bank sees scope for retail customers to use it to buy non-fungible tokens.