
ZARU Becomes First African Stablecoin to Go Live on Circle's Arc Blockchain
South Africa's institutional rand-backed stablecoin ZARU has launched on Circle's Arc blockchain and joins Circle StableFX as a founding currency pair.
AfroEuropa Newsroom
AfroEuropa desk
ZAR Universal (ZARU), described as South Africa's first institutional-grade stablecoin backed by the rand, has gone live on Arc, an open layer-1 blockchain built by Circle for financial markets and real-time money movement, according to a press release published by BitKE.
ZARU launches simultaneously as a founding currency pair on Circle StableFX, a system that enables round-the-clock programmable onchain foreign exchange using fully-reserved stablecoins with instant settlement. The stablecoin is issued by BlockTower under a licence from South Africa's Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA). BitKE reported that ZARU is fully reserved and independently audited, with each unit in circulation backed one-to-one by South African rands held onshore.
Keep reading
ECB Launches Pontes to Settle Tokenised Assets in Central Bank Money
The European Central Bank has introduced Pontes, a settlement system linking its payment infrastructure to blockchain-based markets, with full implementation targeted for 2028.
Other highlights
Irish Regulator Fines Google 403 Million Euros Over Location Data Handling
Ireland's Data Protection Commission has fined Google more than 403 million euros for its processing of European users' location history and web activity.
Follow the storyOne newsletter, two continents
The Bridge brings you the tech, startups, and leaders moving between Africa and Europe in one sharp email each morning. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.









