A layer 1 public blockchain was used to carry out the first-ever cross-border stablecoin transfer, according to a March 14 announcement by National Australia Bank (NAB). The bank's fully backed AUDN stablecoin, which is pegged to the Australian dollar, was utilized for the intrabank transfer (AUD).
In a statement, the company said it would not comment on the matter further. According to a statement made public by Fireblocks, these currencies included Australian, New Zealand, Singapore, and US dollars as well as euros, Japanese yen, and British pounds.
The stablecoins were recently created as ERC-20 bank liabilities. On the initiative, NAB collaborated with the Fireblocks platform and BlockFold professional services experts. Drew Bradford, executive general manager for markets at NAB, said:
“We believe that elements of the future of finance will be blockchain enabled and we’re already witnessing rapid change in the tokenisation market. The stringent governance frameworks we have in place ensures we can support the creation of a safe and reliable digital financial system.”
The test, which was part of NAB's focus on streamlining global banking standards, demonstrated the technology's potential to reduce transaction times from days to minutes, the bank said. By the end of the year, it noted, it anticipated supporting corporate and institutional clients who transacted in digital assets.
NAB is the second significant Australian bank to launch a stablecoin backed by the Australian currency. According to a January statement, the AUDN currency was created with international transfer and carbon credit trade in mind. NAB was one of the nine founding banks of the global Carbonplace blockchain carbon credit trade network, which was announced in February.
The first AUD-linked stablecoin, A$DC, was released by NAB rival Australia and New Zealand Banking Group in March 2022.
