National Australia Bank, one of the four largest financial institutions in Australia, is working on a blockchain-based stablecoin to boost the digital economy, The Australian Financial Review reports.
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The so-called AUDN stablecoin is set to be launched in Q2-Q3 for trading carbon credits and sending money abroad. The stablecoin will be minted by the bank on the Ethereum blockchain network and pegged 1:1 to the Australian dollar.
National Australia Bank CIO, Howard Silby, told the media that the bank sees certain elements of blockchain technology "that will form part of the future of finance." He added:
"That continues to be the source of some debate. But certainly, from our point of view, we see [blockchain] has the potential to deliver instantaneous, transparent, inclusive, financial outcomes."
The Australian bank also believes that stablecoins could be used in repurchase agreements as well as for "green deposits," a fixed-term deposit designed for investing surplus cash reserves in eco-friendly projects.
In the US, there seems to be no consensus on whether the regulator should allow the issuance of a central bank digital currency (CBDC) or give financial institutions a green light so they could mint their own digital versions of the US dollar.
In December 2022, the US Treasury Department said there was no need to rush with a digital version of the US dollar as regulators want to be sure whether a CBDC is effective enough to improve the speed of interbank payments.
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