The Reserve Bank of Australia is moving towards fashioning a new digital version of the Australian dollar.
The RBA is moving to the trial phase by getting partners to try out digital coins in a development called Project Acacia.
It’s a joint initiative between the RBA and the Digital Finance Co-operative Research Centre (DFCRC) and phase one in August was a success.
The second phase will be completed in the first quarter of 2026.
Three of the big four banks and others will test stablecoins, bank deposit tokens and pilot wholesale central bank digital currency (CBDC).
They will also look at new ways of using banks’ existing exchange bank accounts at the RBA.
RBA assistant governor Brad Jones said the scheme was a priority in the digital age.
‘The use cases selected in this project will help us to better understand how innovations in central bank and private digital money, alongside payments infrastructure, might help to uplift the functioning of wholesale financial markets in Australia,’ he said.
The RBA is working with the big banks to test stablecoins and bank deposit tokens
During the trials, other third parties, Hedera, Redbelly, R3 Corda and Canvas Connect, will test the central bank digital currency.
The bank is looking for 24 innovative use cases, including 19 pilot cases, which will involve real money and real asset transfers.
It will also include five proof-of-concept use cases with simulated transactions.
ASIC commissioner Kate O’Rourke said it was a good sign of a lively economy and society.
‘ASIC sees useful applications for the technologies underlying digital assets in wholesale markets,’ she said.
‘The relief from regulatory requirements that we have announced will allow these technologies to be sensibly tested – to explore opportunities and identify and tackle risks.’
ASIC has given the project regulatory relief to permit members to transact using the digital Australian dollar.
‘Importantly, Project Acacia will allow industry and regulators to work together to learn more about how these use cases may reshape the financial services industry, potentially boosting efficiency and foster economic growth,’ Ms O’Rourke said.
Governor Michele Bullock said the RBA didn’t have a view on Bitcoin
RBA governor Michele Bullock said the RBA didn’t have a view on bitcoin.
‘I don’t think the RBA as an organisation has an opinion on what we should be doing with bitcoin or what we should be doing with these meme coins and so on,’ she said.
‘Some people are finding something interesting to do with them, but they’re not core to the payments system. They’re not something that we regulate, and I don’t think we have a particular view.’
DFCRC chief scientist Talis Putnins said the alliance from many parts of the industry was a positive.
‘The real money settlement models being tested, including issuing pilot wholesale CBDC on third-party platforms, reflects another world-first for Australia in this rapidly evolving field,’ Professor Putnins said.
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