Stablecorp, Circle and Shift Markets, leading global digital asset infrastructure firms announced today that they have collaborated to establish a cross-border payments and on-chain FX rail between Canada and the United States.
This cross-border rail allows assets to flow between the two countries entirely on-chain with Shift Markets providing the on-chain foreign exchange 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 in order to enhance the efficiency of paying their athletes and suppliers globally. Tom Ramshaw, a two-time Olympian and Grinder on the Canada SailGP Team, will be the first SailGP athlete to receive a transaction in USDC on the Algorand blockchain.
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 USDC or EUROC on the Shift Markets on-chain FX platform Cables. This USDC or EUROC is then settled into the Circle infrastructure allowing the Canada SailGP Team and others to make digital asset and fiat payouts to third party suppliers and athletes like Tom Ramshaw.
“It’s really exciting to be the first team member and athlete in SailGP to receive a payment with digital assets, even better that it is on the Algorand blockchain, our Tier 1 partner,” said Tom 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 nearly zero fees. Shift Markets leverages a deep pool of FX liquidity in order 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 3-5 business days to near instantaneously.
Stablecorp President and Chief Executive Officer Alex McDougall said: “Digital assets have been held up as a cure-all for financial frictions, 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 partner with Circle and Shift Markets to deliver this valuable treasury solution to the Canada SailGP Team.”
“Circle is fully aligned with Stablecorp’s mission to build the on-chain financial infrastructure that unlocks the next wave of sustainable growth in the digital asset ecosystem. On-chain FX, like that provided by Shift Markets, and cross-border payment solutions are a key pillar of this evolution. As a digital first sporting franchise, the Canada SailGP Team makes an ideal client to launch this rail with” said Dante Disparte, Circle’s Chief Strategy Officer and Head of Global Policy.
“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 ground breaking solutions that are both efficient and seamless, “ said Fred Pye, Founder and Owner of Canada SailGP Team.
