National Australia Bank (NAB) is set to become the second “Big 4” Australian bank to launch an Australian dollar-pegged stablecoin on the Ethereum network.
Set to launch sometime in mid-2023, the AUDN stablecoin is aimed at streamlining cross-border remittances and carbon credit trading,
Jonathon Miller, Australia’s managing director of crypto exchange Kraken Australia told Cointelegraph that banks are beginning to acknowledge the technical advantages that blockchain infrastructure offers over traditional legacy systems:
“The persistent adoption of crypto technology by financial institutions like ANZ and now NAB for its potential to create significant efficiencies in the financial system […] is an explicit recognition of [blockchain’s] competitive advantage over traditional payment systems.”
“We expect this trend to continue, inevitably evolving to include the adoption of various other cryptocurrencies and tokens for increasing use cases in the Australian economy,” he added.
Related: Stablecoin framework is a near-term priority for Aussie regulators
It also remains to be seen how these private bank-issued stablecoins would work in tandem with the Reserve Bank of Australia’s eAUD — a central bank digital currency (CBDC) — which is currently in its pilot phase.
However, NAB is confident the two will be able to operate simultaneously and have their own set of unique use cases.
