National Australia Bank(NAB), a major financial institution, has made history by completing the world’s first intra-bank cross-border transaction using a NAB-issued stablecoin (ticker – AUDN) on a layer-one public blockchain Ethereum.
The transaction was carried out on the public and permissionless Ethereum blockchain and involved the deployment of stablecoin smart contracts for seven major global currencies. This successful pilot demonstrates the potential to reduce cross-border transactions from days to minutes, enabling NAB to offer its clients a simpler and faster experience, starting with corporate and institutional clients who operate in multiple jurisdictions and currencies.
NAB Executive General Manager, Markets, Drew Bradford, expressed excitement over the successful pilot, highlighting that NAB is investing in developing Australia’s safest, simplest, and most secure digital asset ecosystem. This pilot is a significant milestone for NAB and the financial industry, as it showcases the potential of blockchain technology to revolutionize cross-border transactions and bring greater efficiency to the financial system.
National Australia Bank(NAB) Stablecoin Backed by 1:1 Australian Dollar:
NAB’s Australian stablecoin, AUDN, will be fully backed one-for-one with the Australian dollar and managed as a liability of the bank, forming the cornerstone of NAB’s digital assets ambitions. Transacting on a public, permissionless layer-one blockchain will provide greater transparency, accessibility, and scalability. NAB has partnered with technology providers Blockfold and Fireblocks to build and deploy its stablecoins. The partnership includes leveraging their expertise for smart contract creation, securely minting and burning stablecoins, and managing direct custody of digital assets on the blockchain technology.
NAB Embracing the Blockchain/Crypto Adoption :
According to Fireblocks CEO and Co-founder, Michael Shaulov, NAB’s successful trade execution marks the beginning of the evolution of financial services from Web2 to Web3, underpinned by blockchain technology as well as strong governance and risk management. Meanwhile, BlockFold CEO and Co-founder, Francois Schonken, believes that NAB’s multi-currency cross-border settlement execution on a public blockchain is “exhilarating” and puts in place cross-border payment rails that unlock tokenization potential for both real-world assets and financial products.
“We are committed to pursuing the right digital asset opportunities with clear customer benefits. Bringing multi-currency stablecoins to market demonstrates NAB’s focus on simplifying international banking protocols to increase speed and transparency while lowering costs and reducing complexity for customers,”
Mr, Bradford
NAB Serves Australian, New Zealand & Singapore
NAB’s ambition is to enable transactions across seven of the top globally utilised currencies, including Australian, New Zealand, Singapore and US dollars, Euro, Yen and Pound Sterling. NAB expects to support select corporate and institutional clients to transact using digital assets by the end of 2023. The transaction was completed using NAB’s own, newly minted ERC-20 tokens.
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