USDC News: Stablecorp and Shift Markets, leading global digital asset infrastructure firms, announced today a collaboration to establish a cross-border payments and on-chain foreign exchange (FX) rail between Canada and the United States using Circle’s payment infrastructure. This cross-border rail allows assets to flow between the two countries entirely on-chain with Shift Markets providing the on-chain FX conversion between multi-currency stablecoins.
The Canada SailGP Team, which is competing on the global, ultra-competitive international SailGP circuit, becomes one of the first partners to leverage this rail to enhance the efficiency of paying their athletes and suppliers globally. Tom Ramshaw, a two-time Olympian and Tactician on the Canada SailGP Team, will be the first SailGP athlete to accept his pay cheque entirely in USDC on the Algorand blockchain. “It’s really exciting to be the first team member and athlete in SailGP to be paid with digital assets, even better that it is on the Algorand blockchain, our Tier 1 partner,” said Ramshaw of the partnership.
To enact this cross-border payment, the Canada SailGP Team will leverage Grapes Finance, the newly launched Stablecorp treasury management platform, to seamlessly convert Canadian fiat into one of Stablecorp’s Canadian stablecoins QCAD. This QCAD is then converted into USD Coin (USDC) or Euro Coin (EUROC) on the Shift Markets on-chain FX platform Cables. The USDC or EUROC is then settled through Circle’s payment infrastructure, enabling Canada SailGP Team and others to make digital asset and fiat payouts to 3rd party suppliers and athletes like Ramshaw.
Given the entirely on-chain nature and the very low-cost transaction fees of the Algorand blockchain, these transactions can be settled nearly instantly (including on weekends) and for close to zero fees. Shift Markets leverages a deep pool of FX liquidity using their own Cables Finance product to maintain highly efficient trading pairs across multi-currency stablecoins including QCAD / USDC and QCAD / EUROC. Altogether, Stablecorp estimates that total fees and spreads on cross-border transactions can be reduced by as much as 95% and settlement time reduced from on average three to five business days to near instantaneously.
“There is such a large need and lack of resources for cross border payments and foreign exchange on-chain. By partnering with Stablecorp, we are taking some the foundational steps in creating fast, secure, and cost-effective infrastructure to propel this financial ecosystem onto the blockchain,” said Ian McAfee, CEO of Cables Finance.
Stablecorp President and Chief Executive Officer Alex McDougall said: “Digital assets have been held up as a cure-all for financial friction, but until now we haven’t put in place these types of connected, ecosystem driven solutions that enable individuals and companies to truly monetize these friction reductions. The $1.7tn Canada / US corridor is a fantastic avenue to begin putting these types of solutions in place and we are thrilled to work with Circle and Shift Markets to deliver this valuable treasury solution to the Canada SailGP Team.”
“The future of finance is digital, and it is our goal to be the first fully digital SailGP Team, possibly sports team, in the world. This collaboration is just one example of our partners, Algorand and Stablecorp, working together to deliver groundbreaking solutions that are both efficient and seamless,” said Fred Pye, Founder and Owner of Canada SailGP Team.
About Stablecorp
Stablecorp is a leading Canadian fintech firm building bank-grade blockchain technology. Through its three product lines – Forge, Grapes and YaaS – Stablecorp blends bleeding edge technology with innovative approaches to solving customer needs to create “step function” improvements in financial services. Stablecorp focuses on consumer and personal treasury management, including cross-border payments, FX and leading analytics on digital asset borrowing and lending solutions, all leveraging blockchain technology. For more information, visit https://www.stablecorp.ca and https://www.grapefinance.com
About Circle
Circle is a global financial technology firm that enables businesses of all sizes to harness the power of digital currencies and public blockchains for payments, commerce and financial applications worldwide. Circle is powering always-on internet-native commerce and payments and is the issuer of USD Coin (USDC) and Euro Coin (EUROC). Today, Circle’s transactional services, business accounts, and platform APIs are giving rise to a new generation of financial services and commerce applications that hold the promise of raising global economic prosperity for all through the frictionless exchange of value. Learn more at https://circle.com.
About Shift Markets
Shift Markets provides cryptocurrency exchange solutions, brokerage trading technology, liquidity, risk management, compliance, and marketing services for clients. Shift Markets is dedicated to promoting financial equality in emerging markets in FX and crypto by providing cutting-edge technology to clients. With finance ever-changing, Shift is dedicated to providing a better financial ecosystem for clients and the world around us. Learn more at https://www.shiftmarkets.com/.
About Canada SailGP Team
The Canada SailGP Team is an independent team and was the 10th team to join SailGP at the beginning of Season 3 in Bermuda. The team and its partners are committed to increasing access to sailing in Canada and creating a pathway for extraordinary athletes in the sport, all while protecting our ocean. SailGP.com/teams/canada/
