Singapore-based Cardano founding entity Emurgo will roll out its native stablecoin called USDA in the first quarter of 2023, according to a press release.
The firm aims to make Cardano “the most adopted blockchain network by developers and users” and the latest project will be the first fully fiat-backed, regulatory-compliant stablecoin in the Cardano ecosystem.
In a statement released to CoinDesk, Emurgo’s Fintech General Manager Vineeth Bhuvanagiri said, “The introduction of a fully fiat-backed, regulatory-compliant stablecoin is the next step in realizing the future for our community.”
USDA is slated to be launched on Emurgo’s Anzens product, a platform that would provide several financial services and products functioning on Cardano-based assets.
The plan would expand to support card payments using cryptocurrency, lending and borrowing services, and linking traditional marketplaces with decentralized applications [dApps].
USDA on the Anzen platform, according to Emurgo, will enable users to tokenize their USD into the stablecoin through credit/debit cards, wire transfers, or conversion of ADA.
In addition to the tokenization of USD, Emurgo will soon make it possible to convert other stablecoins, like USD Coin [USDC] and tether [USDT], into USD.
In the long run, the firm also plans to enable the conversion and exchange of other cryptocurrencies, like bitcoin, ether, and other cryptocurrencies.
Although Cardano’s decentralized finance [DeFi] ecosystem has fallen to over 80% from March peaks of over $300 million, the most recent move might help.
Cardano’s Founding Firm $200M Investment Drive In Africa
As per the P.A, Emurgo said it has worked with a licensed financial services organization with headquarters in the United States as the banking partner. This is to ensure USDA is fully compliant and follows regulatory rules.
A month ago, Cardano‘s commercialization arm which has offices in Indonesia, India, the US, the Middle East, and Africa planned to invest over $200 million to support the ecosystem’s growth over the next three years, founder Ken Kodama told on the sidelines of the then Token 2049 conference.
According to Kodama, Emurgo’s African investment program will allocate $100 million for investments in Africa. He clarified that the use of lending and borrowing crypto services intended for daily life, as opposed to speculative motives, was a key growth driver in the region.