Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase plans to offer stablecoin in Canadian dollars on its platform soon after receiving an official license to operate in Canada.
In a Twitter update on Monday, the company said it has added QCAD (QCAD) to its listing plan – a CAD-linked stablecoin that was “reintroduced” by Canadian fintech company Stablecorp last year.
Like other popular stablecoin coins such as Tether (USDT) and USD Coin (USDC), QCAD maintains its position by being fully backed by reserves equal to or greater than the number of tokens issued.
According to Stablecorp, the tokens are backed by cash and cash equivalents, and monthly attestation reports verify their reserve status. The most recent report, dated February 2024, indicates that there are only 169,303.77 QCAD in circulation, compared to CAD 200,903.17 in Stablecorp’s reserves.
That’s a small amount compared to stablecoin giants such as USDT and USDC, which collectively have more than $140 billion worth of tokens scattered throughout the cryptocurrency ecosystem.
“Our goal is to list all possible assets that meet our legal, compliance and technical securitystandards,” stated a Coinbase blog post about the upcoming offerings. “These standards do not take into account market capitalization or project popularity.”
As such, the implementation of Coinbase – the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the United States and the only listed company of its kind – could be a boon to adoption.
“With greater regulatory clarity from the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA), now is the perfect time to provide Canadians with a transparent and efficient stablecoin,” – Stablecorp CEO Alex McDougall said last year .
Compliance with Canadian regulations
Shortly after the collapse of FTX and Terra in 2022. The CSA issued guidelines for cryptocurrency trading platforms, setting a high bar for stablecoins or other related assets to be listed. Stablecoins would require reserves of “highly liquid assets” with “qualified depositories,” and algorithmic stablecoins were completely excluded.
The strict guidelines contributed to Kraken and Coinbase ‘s withdrawal of USDT and Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC) from their platforms and Binance ‘s complete withdrawal from the country.
Coinbase became the first international cryptocurrency exchange to obtain registration as a “restricted dealer” in Canada last month, however, signaling sufficient compliance with regulators.
The company has often credited Canadian regulators with working with the cryptocurrency industry in ways that U.S. regulators do not. For example, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is currently suing Coinbase, Kraken and Binance for securities law violations.
“We have partnered with Canadian banks, investment advisors and pension funds to demonstrate our commitment to facilitating their successful navigation of the emerging field of digital assets,” – the company wrote last month.
