First regulated Australian dollar stablecoin launched
The first fully regulated Australian stablecoin has been issued by three banking experts who say the product is part of a wave of innovation that will revolutionize traditional payment methods.
Macropod’s AUDM stablecoin was first used in a $100,000 transaction between interested parties on Wednesday and should be available on select crypto exchanges within a week, CEO Drew Bradford told AAP.
He sees AUDM being first used by Australian crypto enthusiasts, but he said it could eventually be used much more widely, such as buying groceries.
“I can’t see a world where stablecoins don’t account for 10 or 20 percent of payments by 2030,” Mr. Bradford said at a crypto forum in Sydney on Wednesday.
Mr Bradford and Macropod’s chief technology officer Rob Waugh were previously at NAB, where they helped create the AUDN stablecoin, which the bank decided not to launch in 2024.
“It was a bit disappointing at the time, but looking back it was a great opportunity to start our own business,” Mr Waugh said.
Despite NAB’s decision, stablecoins have exploded in popularity over the past year, due in part to new legislation in the US offering regulatory clarity to issuers.
But the overwhelming majority of such crypto tokens are pegged to the US dollar, and only $1 billion of the $280 billion stablecoin market is denominated in a currency other than the dollar.
Stablecoins are used to buy and sell digital assets such as Bitcoin and Ethereum, and are used for fast payments in countries that do not have their own stablecoins, such as Lebanon and Argentina.
Despite the lack of success for non-US dollar stablecoins, Mr Bradford said the Australian dollar accounts for around six per cent of the $9 trillion daily global foreign exchange market, so Australian stablecoins should eventually capture a similar share of the stablecoin market.
“I don’t know if that’s two years, three years, four years (but) probably not five,” he said.
Supporters say stablecoins offer many advantages over traditional payment rails, allowing money to be sent instantly anywhere in the world in a transparent and verifiable manner for just a few cents.
Macropod holds an Australian Financial Services License and is regulated by ASIC.
Operations chief Delia Burrage said that all AUDM tokens issued by Macropod will be backed 1:1 by cash in the bank held in an escrow account.
Macropod will keep the interest earned on these dollars as part of its business model.
Initially, the AUDM stablecoin will be issued on the Ethereum and Redbelly networks, but Mr Bradford said he eventually sees it expanding to rival blockchains such as Solana and Sui.
He thinks AUDM is initially used by 4.6 million Australians who own digital assets such as Bitcoin and Ethereum worth an estimated $60 billion and $80 billion.
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