Canada
Stablecoin Act (enacted via Bill C-15, Budget Implementation Act 2025)
Bank of Canada
Overview
Canada enacts dedicated stablecoin legislation
The big picture: On March 26, 2026, Bill C-15 (the Budget Implementation Act, 2025) received Royal Assent, officially enacting the Stablecoin Act — Canada's first federal legislation dedicated to fiat-backed stablecoins. The Bank of Canada is now the primary supervisor for non-bank stablecoin issuers.
Why it matters: For years, the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) treated stablecoins as securities. The Stablecoin Act clarifies that stablecoin issuance is a payment activity, moving regulation from the securities orbit into banking and payments — aligning Canada with the US GENIUS Act and the EU's MiCA.
What's next: Full registration requirements come into force in early 2027. Canada is pushing toward a "real-time" reserve reporting standard by 2027, ahead of both the US and EU timelines.
Key Provisions
What the Stablecoin Act requires
Reserve Requirements
Issuers must maintain 1:1 reserves of high-quality liquid assets (HQLA) — cash or government bonds — held in segregated accounts with a qualified custodian.
Redemption Rights
Users have a legal right to redeem stablecoins for fiat at par within 1–2 business days. Mirrors the GENIUS Act's redemption framework.
Yield Prohibition
Issuers cannot offer interest or yield to holders. Canada's version is stricter than the GENIUS Act — it includes a ban on "indirect" yield such as rewards programs that mimic interest.
Disclosure Standards
Monthly public attestations of reserves required. Canada is pushing toward a real-time reporting standard for 2027 — more aggressive than both US and EU timelines.
Primary Regulator
The Bank of Canada is the official supervisor for non-bank stablecoin issuers, shifting authority away from provincial securities regulators (CSA/OSFI).
Cross-Border Alignment
Explicitly designed to align with the GENIUS Act and MiCA to ensure cross-border interoperability. Canadian stablecoins will be "swappable" with US and EU regulated tokens.
Cross-Border Alignment
Mirroring the GENIUS Act
The bottom line: Canada has deliberately mirrored several "pillars" of the US GENIUS Act, creating a North American stablecoin regulatory corridor.
Provision
GENIUS Act (US)
Stablecoin Act (CA)
Yield prohibition
Direct yield banned
Direct + indirect yield banned (stricter)
Redemption
At par, 1–2 business days
At par, 1–2 business days
Reserve attestation
Monthly attestation
Monthly → real-time by 2027
Audit requirement
Annual audit (≥$50B)
TBD (2027 registration)
Reserve assets
HQLA (cash, T-bills)
HQLA (cash, gov bonds), segregated
Breaking: March 23, 2026
QCAD + Deloitte: bringing stablecoins to Canada's Big Five banks
What happened: On March 23, 2026, Deloitte Canada and Stablecorp (issuer of QCAD) announced a strategic alliance to integrate the first fully compliant CAD-denominated stablecoin into the legacy rails of Canada's Big Five banks — enabling 24/7 instant settlement of corporate payments and interbank transfers.
Why it matters: This is the first stablecoin integration designed for inter-bank clearing and 24/7 collateral movement — allowing Canada's largest financial institutions to settle transactions on weekends and holidays when the Lynx high-value payment system is closed.
Issuer
Stablecorp (QCAD)
Only fully compliant CAD-denominated stablecoin under the new framework
Consulting & Integration
Deloitte Canada
Working with major FI clients to integrate QCAD into treasury and settlement systems
Federal Bank Custodian
VersaBank
Schedule I federal bank. Signed definitive agreement Feb 3, 2026. VersaVault technology secures reserves.
Institutional Liquidity
Stillman Digital
Prime brokerage providing institutional-grade execution and liquidity on-ramps
Network Infrastructure
Base (Coinbase L2)
QCAD launched on Base (Nov 25, 2025) — low-cost, high-speed rail for institutional workflows
Strategic Investors
Coinbase Ventures · Circle Ventures
QCAD designed to be interoperable with USDC for near-zero friction institutional swaps
Analysis
Why Canada matters
- Safe harbor for CAD digital dollars: Canada is positioning itself to prevent its economy from becoming overly reliant on USD-denominated stablecoins (USDT/USDC). By mirroring the GENIUS Act, Canadian stablecoins will be easily interoperable with US regulated tokens — without ceding monetary sovereignty.
- Regulatory moat: The VersaBank (Schedule I bank) + Deloitte (Big Four) stack creates a compliance barrier that makes it extremely difficult for uncollateralized or offshore competitors to enter the Canadian institutional market.
- Big Five on-ramp: The Deloitte alliance is a "plug-and-play" bridge for RBC, TD, BMO, Scotiabank, and CIBC. These banks are reportedly looking at QCAD for inter-bank clearing and 24/7 collateral movement.
- DeFi bridge: DeFi Technologies (Valour) signed a partnership (Sep 25, 2025) to develop QCAD-integrated exchange-traded products and structured solutions — bridging TradFi settlement with on-chain rails.
- Securities → payments shift: The Stablecoin Act formally moves stablecoin regulation from the securities world (CSA) into the banking and payments orbit (Bank of Canada) — resolving years of regulatory ambiguity that chilled Canadian stablecoin development.
Timeline
Key dates
Sep 2025
DeFi Technologies (Valour) signs QCAD partnership for ETPs and structured products
Nov 2025
QCAD launches on Base (Coinbase L2)
Feb 3, 2026
VersaBank signs definitive agreement as primary custodian for QCAD Digital Trust
Mar 23, 2026
Deloitte Canada + Stablecorp announce strategic alliance for Big Five bank integration
Mar 26, 2026
Bill C-15 receives Royal Assent — Stablecoin Act becomes law
Early 2027
Full registration requirements come into force; real-time reserve reporting standard targeted
Coming Soon
Detailed regulatory analysis
In-depth coverage of this jurisdiction's stablecoin framework is being developed for a dedicated satellite site in the Atlas network.
Back to Atlas →