Carnegie’s MHC Digital Group has joined forces with Catena Digital, founded by former NAB executives, to deliver a scalable, compliant and institutional-grade stablecoin, “Macropod”.
“This is the missing piece of digital infrastructure in Australia,” Carnegie said.
Macropod will go by the ticker AUDM and will be issued 1:1 against Australian dollars held in trust with a big four Australian bank.
AUDM is launching at a pivotal moment for digital assets globally, providing Australia with a trusted onshore option to meet surging demand from exchanges, wealth platforms, remittance providers and fintechs.
Meanwhile, regulatory clarity is accelerating, with ASIC’s updated Info Sheet 225 set to be released imminently.
“Stablecoins are already the fastest-scaling asset class in financial history, and demand from exchanges, wealth platforms and fintechs for compliant Australian dollar rails is at an all-time high,” Carnegie said.
Digital Economy Council of Australia CEO Amy-Rose Goodey said the launch of AUDM is a positive step for Australia’s digital economy and part of the broader payments infrastructure that are being built in the nation.
“Having a fully licensed Australian dollar stablecoin available onshore gives the market a trusted option that fits with existing regulatory settings and is supported by reserve backing and oversight,” she said.
The milestone also comes at a time when the Treasury is progressing the Payment Stablecoin and Digital Asset Platform frameworks.
“It will be interesting to see how this initiative connects into the longer-term picture. At a practical level, this is about putting in place local rails for settlement and liquidity that can support tokenised markets, payments and other digital services in the years ahead,” Goodey told InvestorDaily.
Macropod will be supported by regulatory oversight and monthly proof-of-reserves attestations.
The corporate watchdog on Thursday granted Catena Digital first-of-its-kind relief for intermediaries to provide services for AFS-licensed stablecoins without holding separate Australian Financial Services (AFS) market or clearing licences, provided they make the product disclosure statement available to clients.
Carnegie said AUDM’s transparency and regulatory alignment have attracted institutional interest.
“Macropod is the only team in the market with the licences, partnerships and infrastructure to compliantly scale a stablecoin in Australia,” Carnegie said.
AUDM will start on Ethereum – the world’s leading blockchain for digital assets – and Redbelly, an Australian-built, high-performance blockchain.
The milestone comes at a time when stablecoins are gaining global legitimacy, with recent developments including Japan’s approval of a licensed yen-backed token (JPYC) and the US Genius Act.
“Launching at a time of accelerating global adoption, we are providing the country with a trusted onshore option to meet surging demand. Together with Catena, this partnership is building the foundation for Australia’s digital asset economy,” Carnegie said.
The venture builds on MHC’s successful partnership with Circle, issuer of USDC, expanding institutional access to digital dollars across Australia and APAC. Circle’s strong initial public offering performance further validates institutional confidence in stablecoins.
The AUDM stablecoin also follows the launch of Project Acacia in July – a joint research and pilot initiative led by the Reserve Bank of Australia and the Digital Finance Cooperative Research Centre, in which Catena is leading a use case on stablecoin settlement for tokenised financial markets.
Project Acacia’s mission is to explore how different forms of digital money and corresponding infrastructure could underpin wholesale tokenised asset markets in Australia.
