The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has announced the launch of a new testing phase for its central bank digital currency (CBDC) project named Acacia.
New Testing Phase of Project Acacia
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.
Participants and Testing Scenarios
This new testing phase will involve market participants, including major banks and fintech companies in Australia. 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), which is providing regulatory exemptions to project participants to test tokenized asset transactions using CBDC in certain scenarios.
Current Australian Policy on Digital Assets
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. Participating organizations include the country's leading financial institutions such as the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Australia and New Zealand Banking Corporation (ANZ), and Westpac Banking Corporation.
The Australian government continues to comprehensively assess the role of crypto assets and CBDCs in the financial system. Project Acacia has become central to its plan to create a 'fit for purpose' legal framework for digital asset regulation.
