Australia Unveils Plan To Test CBDCs, Stablecoins, Tokenized Assets

Australia is actively exploring digital currencies and tokenized assets. The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) is set to launch a comprehensive trial, in partnership with the Digital Finance Cooperating Reserach Centre (DFCRC). The country unveiled the next phase of ‘Project Acacia’ – an initiative designed to test the real world application of the central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), stablecoins and tokenized assets.

The trail will test 24 distinct use case. 19 of these will involve real money transactions. Five are proofs-of-concept using simulated transactions. Importantly, three of Australia’s four largest banks – Commonwealth Bank(CBA), Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ), and Westpac – are actively participating. Other financial and tech organisations are also participating.

“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,” Talis Putnins, Chief Scientist at the DFCRC.

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On 10 July 2025, the RBA said in a press release, “Project Acacia has today reached a significant milestone with a number of industry participants selected to explore how innovations in digital money and existing settlement infrastructure might support the development of Australian wholesale tokenised asset markets.”

Brad Jones, Assistant Governor at the RBA said, “Ensuring that Australia’s payments and monetary arrangements are fit-for-purpose in the digital age is a strategic priority for the RBA and the Payments System Board.”

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More About Project Acacia

Project Acacia is a coordinated, large pilot involving a diverse group of participants. It includes local fintech startups, major Australian banks and global financial institutions.

“Project Acacia represents an opportunity for further collaborative exploration on tokenised asset markets and the future of money by the public and private sectors in Australia,” said Jones. “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.”

Proposed settlement assets for the use cases include stablecoins, bank deposit tokens, and pilot wholesale CBDCs. Moreover, they include new ways of using banks’ existing exchange settlement accounts at the RBA.

Furthermore, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) Commissioner Kate O’Rourke weighed in. She said, “ASIC sees useful applications for the technologies underlying digital assets in wholesale markets. The relief from regulatory requirements that we have announced today will allow these technologies to be sensibly tested—to explore opportunities and identify and tackle risks.”

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Australia Proposes New Crypto Framework

Australia’s Labor-led government has unveiled a new regulatory framework. It aims at bringing crypto exchanges and related services under the country’s existing financial services laws.

The announcement was made by the Treasury Department on 21 March 2025. This marked a significant step toward formalizing oversight of the digital asset industry. 

Under the proposal, crypto exchanges, custodians, and select brokerage firms involved in trading or storing digital assets will be required to obtain an Australian Financial Services Licence. Moreover, they will also have to comply with capital requirements and customer asset protection rules.

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