Deloitte Canada and Stablecorp are collaborating to develop stablecoin infrastructure for Canadian financial institutions, as federal regulators move closer to establishing rules for fiat-backed digital assets.
In a Monday statement, the professional services firm said it plans to integrate Stablecorp’s Canadian dollar-pegged stablecoin, QCAD, into payment and settlement workflows for institutional clients.
Stablecorp, a Toronto-based fintech firm, issues QCAD, a fiat-backed stablecoin pegged to the Canadian dollar.
Soumak Chatterjee, a partner in Deloitte Canada’s financial services division, said the initiative aims to help banks and institutions prepare for stablecoin adoption once a regulatory framework is in place.
The firms cited potential use cases including 24/7 payments, faster settlement and blockchain-based recordkeeping. They also referenced possible financial products built on tokenized infrastructure.
No bank partners or rollout timeline were provided.
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The development comes as the Canadian government advances a federal framework for stablecoins under Bill C-15, a budget implementation bill introduced last November that includes a proposed federal framework to regulate fiat-backed stablecoins.
While Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has previously expressed skepticism about crypto, he has lately acknowledged that the technologies underpinning digital assets could “improve financial stability; support more innovative, efficient and reliable payment services as well as have wider applications.”
The Bank of Canada has also called for clearer rules governing stablecoins, saying regulatory clarity is needed to modernize the country’s payment systems. The central bank has said any framework should ensure stablecoins are fully backed by high-quality liquid assets and redeemable at par, while warning that delays in regulation could leave Canada lagging behind other jurisdictions.
The push comes as stablecoin regulation in the United States has gained traction, including the passage of the GENIUS Act last summer.
Currently, the market for Canadian dollar-denominated stablecoins remains limited, particularly compared to the dominant US dollar segment, where Tether’s USDt (USDT) and Circle’s USDC (USDC) account for the majority of global stablecoin supply and usage.
The Bank of Canada shelved plans for a central bank digital currency in September 2024 after more than seven years of research, including a public consultation process that drew nearly 90,000 public responses.
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