According to PANews, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) is working with the Digital Finance Cooperative Research Center (DFCRC) to explore the potential of wholesale Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) and asset tokenisation. This initiative is part of the Acacia project, which aims to engage industry participants in providing feedback and participating in trials for wholesale tokenization use cases by 2025. The RBA is also considering forming a sector to advance these efforts.
In addition to wholesale CBDC, the Acacia project will explore the use of private forms of digital currency, including tokenized deposits. This exploration marks a significant step in understanding how digital currencies can be integrated into the financial system, potentially offering new efficiencies and innovations in financial transactions.
Previously, the RBA and DFCRC have conducted experiments involving both wholesale and retail CBDCs, where digital currencies were issued on central bank-controlled infrastructure. In the latest phase of experimentation, the central bank is evaluating issuing a pilot wholesale CBDC (wCBDC) on third-party blockchain networks, drawing inspiration from Switzerland’s Project Helvetia. This approach could provide insights into the interoperability and functionality of CBDCs within existing financial frameworks.
