ANZ Takes Lead in Australia’s Crypto Ecosystem

ANZ, one of the biggest financial firms in Australia, became the first bank in the country to mint A$DC, a stable coin pegged with the Australian Dollar. According to a recent report published by the Australian Financial Review (AFR), the stable coin has been initially introduced for institutional clients.

The Aussie bank confirmed that it has delivered A$DC to a private wealth management firm for digital assets, Victor Smorgon Group in partnership with Zerocap. In a pilot transaction, A$DC worth $22 million (AUD 30 million) was transferred.

“A historic day for digital assets today as ANZ becomes the first bank in the world to issue a stable coin, utilizing Zerocap's OTC and custody services to facilitate a transaction with Victor Smorgon Group. We couldn't be prouder to play a role in driving adoption and growing the ecosystem. Congrats and thanks to everyone involved,” Ryan McCall, the CEO at Zerocap, mentioned in a LinkedIn post.

Australia is one of the fastest-growing crypto markets in the world. With offices of leading digital asset companies, the country is a hub to the regional blockchain, NFT and Web 3 firms.

Stable Coin

Prominent financial institutions have increased their efforts for the development and issuance of stable coins to reduce transaction costs and time. Within Australia, NAB is working on a stable coin. With the release of A$DC, ANZ is planning to increase the adoption of innovative technology in Australia’s financial services industry.

“Our customers want to buy digital assets and seeing a digital Australian dollar minted by a large ADI [authorized deposit-taking institution] like ANZ will make them confident they can transact with us and use the coin domestically. This means they don’t have to flip in and out of US dollar coins, taking exchange risk in an elongated process,” Nigel Dobson, ANZ’s banking services portfolio lead, said.