What Is CADD? Regulated CAD Stablecoin Live on Solana
2026-09-24
Canada didn't have a widely used, regulated way to move Canadian dollars on-chain until May 2026 and now that stablecoin, CADD, just expanded to its fourth blockchain. Backed by a consortium that includes Shopify, National Bank of Canada, and Wealthsimple, CADD went live on Solana on September 23, 2026, adding to its existing presence on Ethereum, Base, and Tempo.
Key Takeaways
CADD is a Canadian-dollar stablecoin backed 1:1 by CAD reserves, issued by Tetra Trust Company (a licensed Alberta trust company) through its agent, CAD Digital Inc. making it, per its issuer, the first stablecoin issued by a regulated Canadian financial institution.
CADD launched in May 2026 after approval from Alberta Treasury Board and Finance, backed by a consortium including Shopify, National Bank of Canada, Wealthsimple, ATB Financial, Shakepay, Purpose Unlimited, and Urbana Corporation, which together contributed roughly $10 million in September 2025.
As of September 23, 2026, CADD is live across four blockchains Ethereum, Base, Tempo, and now Solana and is separately available for institutional custody through Anchorage Digital.
What Is CADD?
CADD (Canadian Dollar Digital) is a fiat-backed stablecoin designed to represent Canadian dollars on public blockchains, redeemable 1:1 against CAD reserves held in trust. According to its issuer's own description, CADD is "a regulated, CAD-backed stablecoin issued 1:1 against Canadian dollars, providing a transparent, compliant, and efficient on-chain payment rail."
Source: tetradg
Unlike many stablecoins that originate from crypto-native companies, CADD is issued by Tetra Trust Company, a Canadian trust company registered under Alberta's Loan and Trust Corporations Act, through its agent CAD Digital Inc.
Tetra Trust holds a notable track record in Canadian digital-asset infrastructure: it became Canada's first regulated digital asset custodian in 2021 and later supported the country's first staking-enabled Ethereum and Solana ETFs, giving CADD an institutional pedigree that predates the token itself.
Who Issues CADD, and Is It Actually Regulated?
CADD is issued by Tetra Trust Company, which received regulatory approval for the stablecoin from Alberta Treasury Board and Finance ahead of its May 2026 launch. Tetra states it meets the requirements to custody registered entities under Canadian securities rules NI 31-103 and NI 81-102, and describes itself as fiduciarily responsible to act in clients' best interests as a registered trust company.
In practice, that regulatory structure means:
Reserves are held in trust in Canada, dedicated exclusively to redeeming CADD tokens not used for the issuer's general business operations.
CADD is structured as a regulated payment instrument, issued under provincial trust and financial services oversight rather than operating as an unregistered token.
CADD publishes reserve attestations through its official channels, a practice increasingly expected of any fiat-backed stablecoin seeking institutional trust.
This regulatory grounding is central to how CADD positions itself against the broader stablecoin market, which as its issuer points out has been dominated by US-dollar-denominated tokens, leaving Canadian businesses without a comparable domestic, compliant option.
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How Does CADD Work?
CADD works like most reserve-backed stablecoins: users or institutions deposit Canadian dollars with the issuer, receive an equivalent amount of CADD tokens on a supported blockchain, and can redeem those tokens back into CAD dollars at any time.
Each CADD token in circulation is backed by an equivalent CAD reserve held for redemption purposes, meaning the token's value is designed to stay pegged to the Canadian dollar rather than fluctuate like a typical cryptocurrency.
Tetra frames CADD's core use cases around four areas:
Payments moving CAD value between parties without relying on traditional batch-based banking rails.
Settlement enabling near-instant, programmable settlement instead of multi-day clearing cycles.
Treasury operations letting businesses manage Canadian-dollar liquidity across blockchain-based systems.
Cross-border transfers including Canada-US supplier payments and contractor payouts, an area Tetra has developed through a partnership with Berkeley Payment Solutions aimed at serving hundreds of Canadian businesses.
An early proof point for this model came in December 2025, when CADD moved in a testnet transfer between National Bank of Canada and Wealthsimple described at the time as the first instance of a Canadian-dollar stablecoin moving between two financial institutions, one of them a major bank. That test preceded CADD's commercial launch by several months.
Which Blockchains Support CADD?
CADD has expanded steadily across blockchain networks since its May 2026 launch, most recently adding Solana in September 2026. Here's the rollout so far:
Tetra announced the Solana deployment directly, stating that CADD is "the first Canadian-dollar stablecoin issued by a regulated financial institution, bringing CAD on-chain for payments, transfers, treasury and settlement" on the network.
The expansion gives Solana-based applications another option for CAD-denominated transfers and settlement, alongside CADD's existing presence on Ethereum, Base, and Tempo.
Read Also: US Weighs Private Stablecoin Joint Ventures to Push Dollars Overseas
Who Backs CADD? The Consortium Behind the Launch
CADD launched with backing from a consortium of Canadian financial and technology companies rather than a single issuer working alone. The group that contributed to CADD's roughly $10 million raise in September 2025 includes:
Tetra Digital Group (parent company)
National Bank of Canada (TSX: NA)
Shopify (NASDAQ: SHOP)
Wealthsimple
ATB Financial
Shakepay
Purpose Unlimited
Urbana Corporation (TSX: URB)
That mix of a major bank, a global e-commerce platform, and several Canadian fintech and investment firms is part of why CADD has been positioned as institutional infrastructure from day one, rather than a token seeking retail-driven speculative demand.
Is CADD the Same as Canada's Bank Tokenized Deposit Initiative?
No, CADD and the tokenized deposit project separately announced by Canada's six largest banks are two different models addressing a similar goal in different ways. CADD is a reserve-backed stablecoin issued by a trust company, where CAD reserves are held separately in trust and dedicated to redemption.
The Big Six banks' tokenized deposit initiative, by contrast, represents deposits that remain liabilities within the commercial banking system itself, digitized for interbank transfer rather than backed by a segregated reserve pool.
Both projects reflect the same broader trend of Canadian financial infrastructure moving toward blockchain-based rails for the Canadian dollar but they're built on different legal and technical foundations, and neither is a substitute for the other.
Read Also: Why is USD the World Currency? Impact on Stablecoins
How Does CADD Compare to Other Stablecoins?
CADD's main differentiator against the broader stablecoin market isn't its peg mechanism that's standard for fiat-backed stablecoins it's that CADD is issued by a licensed financial institution operating under direct provincial regulatory oversight, rather than by a crypto-native company operating under lighter-touch or offshore frameworks.
Most large stablecoins in circulation globally are denominated in US dollars; CADD fills a specific gap by offering a comparably regulated option denominated in Canadian dollars.
For crypto-native investors, CADD's growing multi-chain footprint matters because it signals real institutional intent rather than a single-chain pilot.
A stablecoin used purely for internal testing rarely bothers expanding to four separate blockchain ecosystems, add custody support through a federally chartered platform like Anchorage Digital, and build out dedicated corporate payment integrations, as CADD has done within roughly four months of its commercial launch.
If you're tracking how regulated fiat-backed stablecoins are expanding across chains, it's worth keeping CADD on your radar alongside other national-currency stablecoin initiatives emerging globally. Create a free Bitrue account to research and track a broad range of digital assets, including regulated stablecoins, as this part of the market continues to develop.
FAQ
What is CADD stablecoin?
CADD is a Canadian-dollar stablecoin backed 1:1 by CAD reserves, issued by Tetra Trust Company through its agent CAD Digital Inc. It's designed for payments, settlement, treasury operations, and cross-border transfers on supported blockchain networks.
Is CADD a regulated stablecoin?
Yes. CADD received regulatory approval from Alberta Treasury Board and Finance ahead of its May 2026 launch, and its issuer, Tetra Trust Company, is a licensed trust company registered under Alberta's Loan and Trust Corporations Act.
Which blockchains support CADD?
CADD launched on Ethereum, Base, and Tempo in May 2026 and expanded to Solana on September 23, 2026.
Who backs CADD?
CADD launched with backing from a consortium including Tetra Digital Group, National Bank of Canada, Shopify, Wealthsimple, ATB Financial, Shakepay, Purpose Unlimited, and Urbana Corporation, which together contributed roughly $10 million toward the project in September 2025.
Is CADD the same as a bank tokenized deposit?
No. CADD is a reserve-backed stablecoin with CAD held in trust for redemption, while bank tokenized deposits such as the initiative separately announced by Canada's six largest banks represent digitized deposits that remain liabilities within the commercial banking system.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial or investment advice. Details about CADD, its issuer, and its backing consortium are based on public statements and third-party reporting as of September 2026 and may change as the project develops. Always verify current reserve attestations and terms directly through Tetra Digital Group's official channels before engaging with CADD.
Disclaimer: The content of this article does not constitute financial or investment advice.
