The Reserve Bank of Australia has announced that its central bank digital currency (CBDC) project, Project Acacia, aimed at supporting the development of the country's wholesale tokenized asset markets, has moved into its next phase of testing. The Reserve Bank of Australia Expands CBDC and Tokenized Asset Testing with Project Acacia In a statement today, the RBA stated that it is preparing to test 24 different use cases to explore the potential role of digital assets and CBDCs in financial markets. This new phase will involve multiple market players, including major banks and fintech companies in the country. Project Acacia is a joint initiative between the RBA and the Digital Finance Collaborative Research Centre (DFCRC), supported by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC). ASIC is providing regulatory exemptions to project participants to test tokenized asset transactions using CBDC in certain scenarios. The new testing phase will trial various payment and settlement instruments, including stablecoins, bank deposit tokens, wholesale CBDCs and advanced uses of exchange accounts that the RBA already offers. Organisations taking part in the pilot program include the country's leading financial institutions, including the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, the Australia and New Zealand Banking Corporation (ANZ) and Westpac Banking Corporation. “Project Acacia presents a major opportunity for the public and private sectors in Australia to jointly explore digital currencies and tokenized asset markets,” said Brad Jones, Deputy Governor of the RBA Financial System. “These use cases will help us understand how central bank and private digital currencies can operate more efficiently in financial markets, alongside existing payment infrastructures.” The Australian government continues to comprehensively assess the role of crypto assets and CBDCs in the financial system. In a policy released in March, Project Acacia was central to its plan to create a “fit for purpose” legal framework for digital asset regulation. *This is not investment advice. Continue Reading: The Reserve Bank of Australia has entered the final phase of its Project Acacia Digital Currency (CBDC) project! Here are the details.
