Coinbase Plans To Offer Stablecoin Pegged To Canadian Dollar

Crypto exchange Coinbase is planning to offer a Canadian dollar stablecoin on its platform shortly after receiving an official license to operate within Canada.

In a Twitter update on Monday, the company said it had added QCAD (QCAD) to its listing roadmap – a CAD-pegged stablecoin that was “re-launched” by Canadian fintech firm Stablecorp last year.

Canadian Dollar Stablecoin On Coinbase

Much like other popular stablecoins such as Tether (USDT) and USD Coin (USDC), QCAD maintains its peg with full backing by reserves of equal or greater value to the number of tokens that have been issued.

According to Stablecorp, these tokens are backed by cash and cash equivalents, with monthly attestation reports to verify their reserve status. Its latest attestation report in February 2024 said there were just 169,303.77 QCAD in circulation versus CAD $200,903.17 in Stablecorp’s reserves.

Assets added to the roadmap today: QCAD (QCAD)https://t.co/rRB9d3hSr2

— Coinbase Assets (@CoinbaseAssets) April 29, 2024

That’s a small amount relative to stablecoin giants like USDT and USDC, which have over $140 billion USD worth of tokens combined spread throughout the crypto ecosystem.

“Our goal is to list every asset possible that meets our standards for legal, compliance, and technical security,” Coinbase’s blog post on upcoming listings stated. “These standards do not take into account the market cap or popularity of a project.”

As such, onboarding Coinbase – the largest crypto exchange in the United States and the only publicly traded firm of its kind – could be a boon for adoption.

“With increased regulatory clarity from the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA), the timing is perfect to bring Canadians a transparent, efficient stablecoin,” said Stablecorp CEO Alex McDougall last year.

Compliance With Canadian Regulators

Shortly after the collapse of FTX and Terra in 2022, the CSA issued guidance to crypto trading platforms, establishing a high bar for stablecoins or other pegged assets to receive listing. Stablecoins would require reserves of “highly liquid assets” with “qualified custodians,” and algorithmic stablecoins were completely ruled out.

The strict guidance contributed to Kraken and Coinbase delisting USDT and Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC) from their platforms and to Binance moving out of the country entirely.

Coinbase became the first international crypto exchange to gain registration as a “restricted dealer” in Canada last month, however, signaling its sufficient compliance with regulators.

The company has often credited Canadian regulators with being cooperative with the crypto industry in ways that U.S. regulators are not. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), for example, is currently suing Coinbase, Kraken, and Binance for securities law violations.

“We’ve collaborated with Canadian banks, investment advisors, and pension funds to demonstrate our dedication to facilitating their successful navigation of the evolving digital asset realm,” the company wrote last month.

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