Kraken has listed QCAD and introduced rewards for holders of the Canadian dollar-pegged stablecoin, which it described as Canada's first fully compliant CAD stablecoin.
The move comes as Canada implements a new stablecoin framework under Bill C-15, which recognises stablecoins as a form of payment infrastructure. Kraken said the next stage will depend on how the detailed rules are drafted and whether regulators resolve overlaps between federal and provincial oversight.
According to Kraken, QCAD received its final prospectus receipt from Canadian securities regulators in November 2025. The exchange listed the token in April and has now added a rewards feature to broaden the use of Canadian dollar-denominated digital assets on its platform.
Kraken positioned the launch within a broader debate over whether Canada can build a domestic market for stablecoins tied to its own currency rather than relying mainly on US-dollar products. It said Canadian users effectively have access to a single dominant compliant USD stablecoin, while the market for CAD-denominated alternatives remains in its early stages.
Kraken also pointed to the size of the global market, noting that stablecoins have surpassed CAD $400 billion in market capitalisation. It argued that they are increasingly used for always-on digital payments and transfers outside traditional banking hours.
Regulatory concerns
Much of Kraken's argument focused on the wording of Bill C-15, which it said could undermine the competitiveness of Canadian-dollar stablecoins. The exchange said the Act bars issuers from paying interest or yield "directly or indirectly" and warned that the wording could also capture activity-based rewards.
That distinction matters because rewards have become a feature on some platforms offering US dollar stablecoins. Kraken said a Canadian user holding QCAD on its platform might receive no return, while a US user holding USDC on a foreign platform could earn 3.35%.
Kraken argued that this imbalance risks pushing Canadian users towards USD-denominated stablecoins or offshore venues. It also cited analysis from the C.D. Howe Institute, which it said found the Canadian wording stricter than the approach taken in the US GENIUS Act.
Kraken also raised concerns about fragmented supervision. It said different stablecoins have entered the market through different regulatory pathways and that not all have achieved the Value-Referenced Crypto Asset compliance required for listing on registered platforms such as Kraken.
The exchange argued that the Stablecoin Act does not clearly override provincial securities law, leaving open the possibility of dual regulation. It said this has left three CAD stablecoins operating under three separate frameworks, which it believes weakens the case for a unified national market.
Payments focus
Kraken said the emerging federal regime should reflect how stablecoins are used in practice. It welcomed Bill C-15's treatment of stablecoins as payment infrastructure rather than investment products and said that distinction should be maintained in the regulations now being drafted.
In Kraken's view, a federal framework developed by the Department of Finance and overseen by the Bank of Canada offers the clearest route to market consistency. It said the rules should remove overlap between provincial and federal jurisdictions, spell out compliance requirements for issuers and exchanges, and permit compliant rewards or exchange-based programmes.
Kraken said a clear federal paramountcy provision, or another coordination mechanism with provincial regulators, will be needed if the legislation is to function as a single framework. Without both, it argued, Canada will have a framework law without a unified framework.
Kraken also linked the issue to the Canadian dollar's standing in digital markets. It said ensuring CAD is available in tokenised form will be important if Canada wants its currency to remain relevant as global digital payments infrastructure develops.
The company, which said it has hundreds of employees in Canada, described its QCAD listing as an early commercial step in that direction. It added that the token gives users a way to hold Canadian dollar exposure while retaining access to round-the-clock crypto markets.
Kraken said, "The Act currently prohibits stablecoin issuers from paying any interest or yield "directly or indirectly," a formulation the C.D. Howe Institute flagged as stricter than the US GENIUS Act, broad enough to capture activity-based rewards."
It added that without both, Canada will have a framework law without a unified framework.