Alberta approves CADD, Canada’s first regulated CAD stablecoin

Tetra Trust Company has launched CADD, a one-to-one Canadian-dollar stablecoin that received approval from the Alberta Treasury Board and Finance. The token is live on Base, Ethereum and the Tempo network, with plans to expand to Solana.

The provincial approval allows CADD to operate under trust company regulation. According to Tetra Digital Group, all funds backing CADD are held in trust and are redeemable only for Canadian dollars.

CADD settles Canadian dollars on-chain with near-instant finality. The token is intended to support 24/7 cross-border settlement, real-time treasury management and programmable payments for digital platforms.

Institutional backers include National Bank of Canada, Shopify, Wealthsimple, ATB Financial and Purpose Unlimited. In December 2025, the project completed a pilot transfer of CADD between National Bank of Canada and Wealthsimple, a test the issuer said demonstrated support for regulated, real-world settlement.

The design allows direct transactions between financial institutions without using correspondent banking networks. Regulated banks, fintech firms and payment providers can participate in the stablecoin ecosystem under the trust framework.

Canada’s traditional payment systems process roughly $424 billion in daily transactions through networks built decades ago. Proponents note that on-chain settlement can provide continuous settlement and programmable features that those legacy rails do not offer.

The global stablecoin market is valued at about $320 billion, led by U.S. dollar–pegged tokens. Canadian projects such as QCAD and CADC remain in development or have seen limited uptake, leaving some domestic users dependent on foreign-denominated tokens.

Tetra Digital Group described the launch as a collaboration among regulators, industry participants and government authorities. The Alberta approval inserts CADD into an established provincial financial services framework and makes it the first Canadian stablecoin issued by a licensed trust company.