Global Stablecoin Market Booms, Canada Gets Fully Regulated Token
Commanding hundreds of billions of dollars in market capitalization globally, stablecoins have exploded around the world, with total market cap pushing past US$308 billion as of December 8, 2025.
Stablecoins now facilitate over US$4 trillion in annual transaction volume. Functioning as efficient digital cash on blockchain rails, they offer solutions for payments, remittances and decentralized finance (DeFi).
This amazing growth was largely fueled by the US passing the GENIUS Act in July 2025. Since then, Tether’s (USDT) market cap has grown by over 30 percent to more than US$185 billion. Meanwhile, its main competitor, Circle’s (NYSE:CRCL) USDC, has surged to surpass US$78 billion.
Enter QCAD, Canada’s pioneering regulated digital token, serviced by Stablecorp Digital Currencies. With backing from Coinbase Ventures, Circle Ventures, Side Door Ventures and DeFi Technologies, QCAD is positioning itself to bridge traditional finance and blockchain for Canadian institutions.
What is QCAD?
QCAD is a digital token pegged 1:1 to the Canadian dollar, with reserves held at regulated financial institutions under the QCAD Digital Trust.
Like other stablecoins, QCAD aims to bridge traditional financial institutions and modern blockchain networks by providing interoperable and secure digital rails. It offers institutional-grade infrastructure to facilitate transactions and digital asset operations.
“We tried to be a first mover. From the get-go, we wanted to build a sort of stablecoin that wouldn’t take any shortcuts, that would meet whatever regulatory standards would come,” Jean Desgagné, chair of the board of directors at Stablecorp, explained to the Investing News Network (INN) in an exclusive interview.
The strategy proved prescient. When Canadian regulators finally approved stablecoin standards, QCAD’s architecture aligned almost perfectly with expectations.
The service’s primary users are fintech companies and exchanges. Qualified holders can access and use QCAD through a growing network of authorized channels, which include regulated crypto trading platforms (CTPs), fintech APIs and institutional custody providers.
QCAD’s architecture wasn’t built in isolation – Stablecorp deliberately populated its cap table with industry leaders to learn from their experiences and avoid repeating mistakes.
“We learn from (our partners) every day. We talk to them on an ongoing basis, and we try to learn from their strengths and learn from some of the challenges that they have. For example, the USDC from Circle…is a really good model reference test that I think is going to inform a lot of decisions that we make going forward.
“I don’t look at QCAD as a competitor to USDC,” he added. “It really is a complementary product. When you think of use cases like FX, you can take one USDC and exchange it for a corresponding amount of QCAD. You can do that with no friction, with much lower…
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