Australia Launches Six-Month Trial of Tokenized Money and Wholesale CBDC
The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has kicked off a major pilot to explore the real-world potential of digital currencies in wholesale finance.
The initiative marks the second phase of Project Acacia, a joint effort with the Digital Finance Cooperative Research Centre, and will test how tokenized assets, stablecoins, and a wholesale central bank digital currency (CBDC) can enhance market operations.
The trial spans 24 use cases involving banks, fintechs, and blockchain firms, including real-money applications across repo markets, private credit, carbon markets, and government securities. Notably, three of Australia’s biggest banks—CBA, ANZ, and Westpac—are participating.
CBA is working with JPMorgan to evaluate the impact of digital currencies in repo transactions, while ANZ is focused on tokenized trade payables and fixed-income settlement.
The six-month pilot, which includes regulatory exemptions granted by ASIC, is expected to publish its findings in early 2026. Officials say the trial will help regulators and institutions better understand how tokenization could reshape liquidity, risk, and settlement in institutional finance.
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