Stablecorp and Shift Markets Announces Strategic Partnership to Establish Cross Border Payments Between Canada and U.S

  • The Canada SailGP Team, which is competing on the global, ultra-competitive international SailGP circuit, will be the first company to leverage the latest blockchain services.
  • Notably, the cross-border payment services provided by Stablecorp and Shift Markets will be made through the USDC on the Algorand blockchain. 
  • To enact this cross-border payment, the Canada SailGP Team will leverage Grapes Finance, a newly launched Stablecorp treasury management platform.  

Stablecorp and Shift Markets, leading global digital asset infrastructure firms, have announced a strategic partnership to establish a cross-border payment infrastructure between Canada and the United States. According to the announcement, Stablecorp and Shift Markets are working on a cross-border payment and on-chain exchange (FX) infrastructure using USDC’s issuer Circle.

Notably, the cross-border infrastructure will allow assets to flow between the two countries entirely on-chain, with Shift Markets providing the on-chain FX conversion between multi-currency stablecoins.

The White House previously noted the remittance market as the most prominent use case for blockchain technology. Moreover, blockchain technology reduces transaction time and fees significantly compared to the traditional banking sector. 

The Canada SailGP Team, which is competing on the global, ultra-competitive international SailGP circuit, will be the first company to leverage the latest blockchain services. Tom Ramshaw, a two-time Olympian and Tactician on the Canadian SailGP Team, will be the first SailGP athlete to use the service. 

Notably, the cross-border payment services will be made through the 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.

Stablecorp and Shift Markets on Cross Border Financial Market 

To enact this cross-border payment, the Canada SailGP Team will leverage Grapes Finance, a newly launched Stablecorp treasury management platform. Worth noting that Grapes Finance will enable users to seamlessly convert Canadian fiat into one of Stablecorp’s Canadian stablecoins QCAD. 

The QCAD is 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. Hereby, enabling Canada SailGP Team and others to make digital assets and fiat payouts to third-party suppliers and athletes like Ramshaw.

The Algorand was a perfect choice to run the cross-border infrastructure due to its immutability, cheap transaction, and fast transactions. Moreover, Algorand previously made a formal partnership with FIFA.

Despite the hot news, Algorand’s main token (ALGO) traded around $0.3537, down 2.5 per cent compared to yesterday 

Notably, Shift Markets leverages a deep pool of FX liquidity using their own Cables Finance product. This is meant to maintain highly efficient trading pairs across multi-currency stablecoins, including QCAD / USDC and QCAD / EUROC. 

Meanwhile, both companies estimate those total fees and spread on cross-border transactions can be reduced by as much as 95 per cent. Additionally, both crypto firms believe settlement time can be 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 of 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.

On the other hand, Stablecorp President and Chief Executive Officer Alex McDougall believe digital assets are the saviour of the ailing traditional financial system. 

“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,” McDougall noted.

susan keith
Susan Keith Verified Author

I'm passionate about cryptocurrency. I began following the development of Bitcoin and other digital currencies in early 2013, and quickly became fascinated by the potential of this new technology. In the years since, I've followed the rise of the crypto industry with close attention, and written extensively on the subject. .

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