One of New Zealand’s largest digital asset exchanges has launched a stablecoin backed by the New Zealand dollar.
Known as NZDD, the stablecoin is supported by cash in a bare trust and will be regulated by the country’s Financial Markets Authority (FMA).
Imagine taking NZ dollar and turning it digital.
Imagine fast digital payments and a stable store of value.
Imagine having the ability to use programmable digital money to build smart businesses from.
That is NZDD and learn more at https://t.co/mHahQC3hnA pic.twitter.com/k1xZ4ygw3x
— Easy Crypto (@easycrypto) November 23, 2023
Easy Crypto, the country’s largest non-custodial digital asset exchange, partnered with Australian blockchain firm Labrys to develop the NZDD. It launched on the Ethereum blockchain, with the two companies aiming to expand to other chains, including the
underwhelming Base blockchain by American exchange Coinbase (NASDAQ: COIN).
Easy Crypto believes that digital asset adoption is hindered by two main challenges—volatility and complexity. NZDD will solve the former, giving New Zealanders a stable store of value that spans beyond digital assets, says CEO Janine Grainger.
“Everything is going digital—including currency—but what makes many people hesitate is the stability of these assets. We wanted to change this by offering a trusted NZ dollar-backed ‘stablecoin’—NZDD—that bridges the gap between traditional finance and the digital age,” she commented.
She added that New Zealand businesses increasingly turn to digital assets for cross-border payments. With the NZDD, these clients can now enjoy the low fees made possible by blockchain technology without the downside of volatility.
NZDD isn’t the first Kiwi dollar-pegged stablecoin to launch in the country. In 2021, local fintech firm Techemynt launched the $NZD stablecoin. It was first made available on the local Dasset exchange for retail users and directly by the fintech firm for users purchasing over $70,000 of the stablecoin. However, the stablecoin was caught up in the November 2022 hack of DFX Finance, and the Dasset exchange has since entered liquidation.
The first attempt at a Kiwi dollar-pegged stablecoin was in 2017 by Cryptopia, the ill-fated exchange that crashed after a 2019 hack.
In addition to the stablecoin, Easy Crypto also launched a new self-custodial wallet with a social recovery feature that lets users rely on their friends and family to recover their wallets.
Watch: Centi releases first stablecoin on BSV and it’s backed by Swiss bank
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