Macropod secures strategic investment led by Betashares to scale Australia’s first regulated AUD-backed stablecoin
Betashares-led capital raise also includes investment from Galaxy Digital, Flowdesk, DACM and Primal Capital to scale Australia’s first regulated AUD-backed stablecoin
Sydney, Australia, 12th March 2025: Macropod, the first licensed issuer of an Australian dollar–backed stablecoin, today announced a minority strategic investment led by Betashares, a leading Australian financial services company with more than $75 billion in assets under management across ETFs, managed accounts and superannuation, alongside a range of global and regional leaders in digital assets, including Galaxy Digital, Flowdesk, DACM and Primal Capital.
The investment marks Macropod’s first major institutional capital raise since receiving regulatory authorisation and will support the scale-up of AUDM, its regulated digital Australian dollar stablecoin, as demand for compliant digital settlement infrastructure accelerates globally.
The capital raise comes amid increasing institutional exploration of stablecoins for payments, cash management, tokenised assets and cross-border settlement, driven by improving regulatory clarity and the need for faster, efficient financial infrastructure.
Macropod issues AUDM, a fully backed, transparent Australian-dollar stablecoin designed to function as core tokenised settlement infrastructure for payments providers, wealth platforms, asset managers, superannuation funds and global digital markets. AUDM is backed on a 1-for-1 basis by cash reserves held in segregated trust accounts with multiple major Australian banks.
The funding from the capital raise will be used by Macropod to undertake the following growth initiatives:
- Scale AUDM issuance and distribution across exchanges, wealth platforms, payments providers and enterprise partners
- Deepen regulatory and compliance capability, including ongoing engagement with ASIC, AUSTRAC and Treasury as Australia’s digital asset framework evolves
- Enhance Macropod’s technology platform to support secure, high-integrity settlement at scale
- Accelerate commercial partnerships across superannuation, asset management, remittance, trade finance and emerging tokenised markets.
The funding will also support liquidity provisioning, custody and settlement integrations,.
“The participation of Betashares and a selected range of global and regional leaders in digital assets constitutes a significant milestone for Macropod,” said Mr Drew Bradford, CEO of Macropod. “We are committed to building digital markets in a safe and transparent way, and the capital strengthens our ability to scale AUDM, expand our technology platform and accelerate adoption across payments, wealth and tokenised settlement markets.”
Commenting on the investment, Mr Alex Vynokur, Founder and CEO of Betashares, said: “For over 15 years, we’ve deployed our passion for responsible innovation in service of Australian investors. We firmly believe in the transformative potential of regulated, transparent, asset-backed digital infrastructure and its wide-ranging applications across wealth management and financial services.”
“Globally, stablecoin adoption across financial services and payments is accelerating as real-world use cases become clearer and more widely implemented. Stablecoins have significant long-term potential to increase efficiency and reduce costs across payments and digital-based applications in the financial services sector. Importantly, Macropod is regulated by ASIC and is taking a responsible approach to innovation and the application of stablecoins across a range of potential use cases,” added Mr Vynokur.
MHC Digital Group, a significant shareholder in Macropod, will continue providing strategic support across technology build, business development and liquidity provision as AUDM adoption expands.
Macropod’s leadership in regulated digital infrastructure was recently recognised with Mr Bradford named Blockchain Leader of the Year at the 2025 Blockies Awards.
Market backdrop
Stablecoins have become one of the fastest-growing elements of global financial infrastructure, now approaching US$300 billion in circulation with settlement volumes rivalling major global payment systems.
With institutional adoption gathering momentum and regulatory certainty improving, it has recently been forecast that global stablecoin supply could reach US$1.9 trillion, and as high as US$4.0 trillion by 2030.
Regulatory progress is continuing both in Australia and globally. With MiCAR well established in Europe, the GENIUS Act now passed in the U.S., as well as emerging regimes in Singapore and Hong Kong, growing regulatory certainty is accelerating institutional interest and helping legitimise stablecoins as a foundational layer of modern financial infrastructure.
In this environment, AUDM could be a critical and timely solution for institutions seeking to deploy stablecoins. As the first AUD-denominated stablecoin from a licensed issuer, it provides Australian institutions and market participants with a transparent, locally-anchored on-chain representation of a dollar that can be used for payments, asset tokenisation, cross-border flows and enterprise settlement, including by superannuation funds and wealth platforms.
AUDM tokens are currently backed by cash reserves. Longer term and subject to regulatory considerations, Betashares, which already manages over $75 billion in assets including $15 billion in cash and fixed income assets, may provide treasury management services to Macropod in relation to the underlying Australian dollar reserves for AUDM.
Outlook for 2026+
By the end of 2026, Macropod anticipates that AUDM will be the leading Australian-dollar stablecoin, supported by deeper liquidity and broader availability across the digital asset ecosystem. Following its successful launch on digital currency exchanges Independent Reserve and Swyftx, Macropod is focused on expanding AUDM’s presence across major Australian and global trading platforms.
Macropod also expects growing adoption of AUDM in real-world financial applications, including payments, institutional settlement and tokenised asset markets, alongside increased interoperability across blockchain networks.
“Ensuring deep, consistent liquidity is a core priority,” said Mr Bradford. “We are progressing the technical and risk integrations required to support broader exchange access, so institutional and retail users can rely on AUDM as Australia’s stablecoin.”
Enquiries:
Macropod is Australia’s first licensed stablecoin issuer and the creator of AUDM – a fully backed, Australian dollar-pegged stablecoin designed for real-world payments and institutional-grade use. Built on regulated infrastructure, AUDM is a programmable digital dollar backed 1:1 by AUD reserves held in Australia. Macropod’s mission is to modernise domestic and cross-border transactions by providing a trusted, compliant and efficient digital currency for businesses, financial institutions and fintech innovators.
About Betashares
Founded in 2009, we are one of the country’s largest investment managers, with over $75 billion in assets under management across ETFs, managed accounts and superannuation. Our history of innovation and customer focus has led over one million Australian investors and thousands of financial advisers and institutions to choose Betashares today.
Our business has one fundamental principle: we put customers’ interests first. We believe in transparency of investments, value for money, and financial products and services that make wealth creation accessible. Our solutions include Australia's largest range of exchange traded funds (ETFs), diversified portfolios, expansive investing options available through our innovative investment platform, Betashares Direct, and Superannuation. Behind it all is a strong and experienced team with deep expertise across investment management, portfolio construction, education, research, technology, customer service and more – providing the tools, products and support for you to invest with confidence for the long term.
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