Intershare has launched what it claims is the world’s first multi-currency-backed digital token, IS21, at a time when global fiat denominations are in a state of flux and amid a growing move towards stablecoins.
IS21, unveiled yesterday, is tied to a basket of sovereign currencies, which currently include the rand, dollar and euro. There are plans to expand to 20 currencies plus gold, and it is that framework that gives the token its name.
“Our vision is to add gold as soon as possible. Gold itself is commonly known worldwide as a stable asset in terms of both economic and global uncertainty,” says Intershare COO Peter Fairbanks.
Unlike most stablecoins, which maintain a fixed 1:1 peg to a single currency, IS21 spreads exposure across multiple monetary systems. It is being rolled out first in South Africa, developed in collaboration with digital asset management firm BlueAsset Group.
“In today’s volatile world, individuals and institutions are increasingly exposed to currency concentration risk and inefficient settlement infrastructure. A diversified digital reserve instrument like IS21 offers a modern way to hold and transfer value across systems, while maintaining security and transparency,” says Pierre Oosthuizen, Intershare CEO.
War games
The launch comes amid a war in the Middle East that has seen the rand tank to November 2025 lows as it breaches the R17 to the dollar mark.
Trading Economics explains: “The rand has faced increased volatility since the onset of the Middle East crisis in late February, given South Africa’s sensitivity to oil price fluctuations.”
Wichard Cilliers, head of market risk at TreasuryONE, says the price of gold moved up around 2% overnight, supported by a softer dollar and a lower oil price. “Safe-haven demand has also picked up, but gains could be limited as inflation concerns and fading rate cut hopes weigh on the gold price.”
Bitcoin, which is not pegged to any currency, is up 6.5% month-on-month, with pundits seeing it as a safe haven, while others argue that gold – being tangible – is safer and is only losing ground because of US inflation fears, which is the result of the war.
Big money
IS21 has launched into an increasingly busy market, with the World Bank stating that stablecoins have gone mainstream.
According to Visa, transaction volume exceeded $34 trillion last year. Market capitalisation jumped from less than $50 billion to roughly $300 billion over the past five years, the World Economic Forum notes.
In the middle of this month, Mastercard said it was buying BVNK, a stablecoin infrastructure firm, for up to $1.8 billion, including $300 million in contingent payments.
This followed the early February news that Luno, Sanlam Specialised Asset Management, EasyEquities and Lesaka were introducing ZARU, an institutional-grade stablecoin pegged 1:1 to the rand, backed by rand-denominated assets, including cash, deposits and government bonds.
IS21, however, is not pegged at 1:1, but rather distributes currency exposure across multiple monetary systems through a diversified reserve structure.
Reece Merrick, MD of Middle East and Africa at crypto firm Ripple, said at a February event hosted by Absa that Africa’s stablecoin story is only at its midpoint.
“The infrastructure is being built, the use cases are proven and regulation is maturing,” he said. Scale, he suggested, will come when banks and mobile network operators offer stablecoin services.
Settles in seconds
Oosthuizen adds that “our world is so digitised and information is available instantaneously, yet it still takes three days to send money to London or Sydney”.
The traditional payment rails are expensive, and many people are still excluded, says Oosthuizen. “Blockchain technology – which is fast, secure and transparent – solves this. That’s why we created IS21.”
Digital currencies such as IS21 and ZARU run on blockchains, enabling instant, 24/7 settlement of payments, remittances and cross-border trade without the delays or fees associated with traditional banking systems.
The South African Reserve Bank’s (SARB’s) Second Edition 2025 Financial Stability Review notes that “a structural shift that has taken place since 2022 is the growing role of stablecoins in crypto asset activities”.
No guardrails
While Bitcoin and other popular crypto assets were the main conduit for trading until 2022, dollar-pegged stablecoins have become the preferred trading pair on South African crypto asset trading platforms, the SARB says.
Trading volumes grew from less than R4 billion in 2022, to almost R80 billion in the year to October 2025, its data shows. “This is due to the notably lower price volatility of stablecoins compared to unbacked crypto assets.”
Yet, South Africa has no framework in place for regulating global stablecoin arrangements. The SARB cautions that “without transparent, consistent and reliable data on crypto assets – along with their adoption, use and interlinkages with the traditional financial system – risks may build up undetected”.
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