ANZ Becomes a First Mover by Minting Aussie Dollar Stablecoin (A$DC)

Key Insights:

• ANZ becomes the first Aussie bank to mint an Aussie Dollar pegged stablecoin (A$DC).
• On Thursday, ANZ carried out an Aussie Dollar stablecoin payment.
• The landmark transaction involved the remittance of A$DC to Victor Smorgon Group via Zerocap.

Australian banks are in a race to deliver Aussie Dollar pegged stablecoins. Alongside Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ), the National Bank of Australia (NAB) has also embarked on its stablecoin project.

ANZ appears to be ahead of the curve, with the Big-4 Aussie bank becoming the first to mint an Aussie Dollar (AUD) pegged stablecoin.

ANZ Mints First Aussie Dollar Pegged Stablecoin in a Test Transaction

On Thursday, ANZ announced a market first for the Australian banking industry. ANZ became the first bank to mint an Aussie Dollar (AUD) pegged stablecoin named A$DC.

According to the announcement,

“ANZ delivered the stablecoin for Victor Smorgon Group via Zerocap, a private wealth management firm for digital assets.”

ANZ reportedly minted 30 million A$DC with an in-house ‘built Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) compatible smart contract deployed through the Fireblocks platform.’

Banking Services Lead Nigel Dobson said,

“An ANZ issued Australian dollar stablecoin is a first and important step in enabling our customers to find a safe and secure gateway into the digital economy.”

ANZ is one of the big-4 Australian banks listed on the ASX200, with a market cap of A$77.72bn.

Zerocap is a digital asset investment and technology firm linking crypto and traditional finance to provide products to global clients.

The Victor Smorgon Group is an Australian-based family office of the Smorgon family, covering multiple asset classes. In September 2021, the Group announced that it took an equity stake in Zerocap.

Stablecoin Landscape Continues to Evolve Despite Government Scrutiny

Late last year, the U.S Congress sub-committee hearing on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs held a hearing on stablecoins. The hearing scrutinized stablecoins, with USD Coin (USDC) and representatives of the coin facing tough questions from lawmakers.

Since then, a U.S House Committee on Financial Services held a hearing on stablecoins. The U.S Treasury called for banks to take control of stablecoins, which had mixed reactions from lawmakers.

Overnight, Fed Chair Powell was back in the spotlight, talking of the risks that cryptos and stablecoins present to the U.S financial system. Powell noted that new forms of digital money could also destabilize existing financial institutions.

With U.S lawmakers at odds with stablecoins, today’s news is positive for innovation.