The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) and the Digital Finance Cooperative Research Centre (DFCRC) have published the findings of Project Acacia, an exploratory initiative examining how digital money could support wholesale tokenised asset markets.
The release accompanies DFCRC modelling that estimates broader digital finance innovation could potentially deliver A$24 billion in annual economic gains for the country.
The joint report detailed the results of the research phase, which focused on new settlement infrastructure in Australia.
Industry participants developed 20 use cases across various asset classes to assess the impact of tokenisation in pilot settings.
Tokenisation involves converting rights to an asset into a digital token on a blockchain.
Exploring digital settlement methods
The experimental trials demonstrated potential benefits across the asset lifecycle, including faster settlement times, reduced counterparty risk, and improved capital efficiency.
Participants tested multiple settlement methods, including RBA exchange settlement account (ESA) balances, a pilot wholesale central bank digital currency (wCBDC), tokenised commercial bank deposits, and stablecoins.
Building on Project Acacia, the RBA and DFCRC have outlined a multi-stream research programme to advance digital financial market infrastructure.
The initiative aims to explore regulatory barriers and provide industry participants with a structured pathway to test new technologies.
Proposed exploratory frameworks
Key elements of the next exploratory phase include exploring a potential regulatory sandbox for digital market infrastructure and conducting further research into tokenised government bonds.
The RBA will also consult with the industry on adapting its existing settlement infrastructure alongside continued research into a wCBDC.
“The scope of future initiatives we are outlining today is ambitious, covering tokenised assets, money, and new infrastructure arrangements,”
said Brad Jones, Assistant Governor (Financial System) at the RBA.
“It recognises that it will take a collective effort to ensure Australia’s financial system is well positioned for the digital age.”
Professor Tālis Putniņš, Co-CEO and Chief Scientist at the DFCRC, pointed to the experimental milestones reached during the pilot phase.
“Australia achieved important world firsts through Project Acacia, including the issuance of pilot wholesale CBDC onto both public and private distributed ledger infrastructure for research purposes,”
Putniņš said.
He added that the focus must now shift to translating this experimentation into real-world adoption.
Featured image credit: Edited by Fintech News Australia, based on image by Lanfira via Magnific
