Not only has Canada listed one of the first Bitcoin and Ether exchange traded funds the Toronto Stock Exchange, Canadian bank VersaBank has recently announced what they are calling a 'world first', a bank issued stablecoin.
VersaBank has always been friendly towards blockchain and digital currency. Their new 'VCAD' will be represented 1:1 deposits in a North American bank. It is intended that the VCAD will leverage smart contract functionality and be issued to financial intermediaries in exchange for Canadian dollar deposits. VersaBank's partners will then be able to roll out VCAD to individuals and businesses who can use VCAD for general commerce and redeem it for Canadian dollars with the bank.
David Taylor, president of VesaBank said:
VCAD offers consumers and businesses the ability to adopt and leverage the benefits of digital currency and blockchain-based assets without the volatility of traditional currencies, alongside the security of a value-backed asset that the cryptocurrency world has long demanded.
Taylor added that:
VCAD provides consumers with not only the security afforded by an underlying deposit with a Canadian chartered bank but also the comfort of knowing that each VCAD issued or redeemed will always have one-to-one value with the Canadian dollar. With such clear benefits, we are highly confident in the demand for VCAD as digital currencies increasingly become part of mainstream financial transactions.
VersaBank has developed VCAD together with StableCorp, which currently offers a stablecoin called QCAD. Stablecorp is a joint venture of 3iQ (which was involved in the recent Bitcoin EFT on the TSX) and Mavennet a Canadian blockchain development. How long will it be before an Australian bank (or banks) start issuing their own stablecoins?
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