‘Big Four’ Australian Bank Issues Stablecoin On Ethereum

With its recent stablecoin pilot, NAB joins a growing list of major financial institutions to use the Ethereum blockchain

article-image

Shutterstock.com/CryptoFX, modified by Blockworks

share

One of Australia’s ‘big four’ banks says it has completed its first intra-bank cross-border transaction using its own stablecoin via Ethereum.

The transaction, part of a National Australia Bank (NAB) pilot for an AUD-backed stablecoin, involved deploying stablecoin smart contracts for seven major global currencies, showcasing the potential to shorten cross-border transactions from days to minutes. 

NAB intends to issue its stablecoin under the ticker “AUDN,” which will be managed as a liability on its books. The firm further plans to enable transactions for the Australian, New Zealand, Singapore and US dollars, as well as the euro, yen and pound sterling. 

Digital asset infrastructure provider Fireblocks and fintech platform Blockfold assisting with the smart contracts, direct custody of the tokens (alongside minting and burning). NAB says its stablecoin was issued as an ERC-20 token.

“We believe that elements of the future of finance will be blockchain enabled and we’re already witnessing rapid change in the tokenisation market,” Drew Bradford, NAB Markets Executive General Manager, said in a statement.

The bank claimed it’s the world’s first major financial institution to process a cross-border stablecoin transaction via a public Layer-1 blockchain. A NAB spokesperson shared the current AUDN token contract with Blockworks, viewable on Etherscan.

In any case, ANZ — another ‘big four’ Australian bank — became the first institution in the country to issue and conduct payment of a stablecoin linked to the nation’s dollar last year, also via Ethereum, although it wasn’t cross-border.

As well, JPMorgan alongside Singapore’s DBS Bank and others executed foreign exchange transactions using tokenized deposits, a slightly different concept to stablecoins, as part of a 2022 pilot. The group used Ethereum Layer-2 network Polygon for the trades.

A number of institutions worldwide have also leveraged Ethereum and Polygon to issue tokenized bonds.

Still, NAB considers its recent stablecoin transaction a milestone for the bank. It expects to support “select corporate and institutional clients” in transacting with digital assets by the end of the year.

Updated Mar. 15, 2023 at 5:53 pm ET: Added AUDN token contract.


Get the news in your inbox. Explore Blockworks newsletters:

Tags

Decoding crypto and the markets. Daily, with Byron Gilliam.

Upcoming Events

Old Billingsgate

Mon - Wed, October 13 - 15, 2025

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

recent research

Research Report Templates (2).png

Research

We’re bullish on the PUMP token. We believe Pump.fun's brand strength, existing integrations, product roadmap, and strategic levers justify PUMP's TGE valuation, and expect the token to re-rate meaningfully higher in the months ahead.

article-image

Big blockers wasted a bitcoin fortune trying to prove a point

article-image

Coinbase’s newest acquisition includes the CEO and Head of Research from Opyn

article-image

Crypto’s highest purpose might be to make markets better by making them bigger

article-image

The non-profit’s “Project Open” seeks to let stocks trade directly on Solana

article-image

The acquisition is Pump.fun’s first, and comes just days before its planned ICO

article-image

As Trump’s tariff war reignites, everyone is assuming the dollar will continue its path lower. But the journey might be bumpy