Australia Tests Digital Currency in Financial Markets
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Australia’s central bank has taken a step forward in exploring how digital currency can be used in real-life financial systems.
On Thursday, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) announced it has entered the second phase of Project Acacia, a plan to test digital currencies in wholesale financial markets. This phase will involve real-world trials using stablecoins, bank-issued tokens, and a pilot central bank digital currency (CBDC).
However, this project will be carried out in partnership with the Digital Finance Cooperative Research Centre for last six months. To this end, the final results will be released in early 2026.
Banks and Firms Join Digital Currency Trials
Three of Australia’s four major banks, Commonwealth Bank (CBA), ANZ, and Westpac, are taking part in the experiment. However, CBA is teaming up with JPMorgan to test how digital currency can help improve the repo market. This is a system that handles short-term borrowing and lending secured by government bonds.
According to CBA, blockchain could make transactions quicker and safer. ANZ, on the other hand, is working on two projects: one to use tokenized trade payables to help suppliers manage their cash flow better and another to test how a wholesale CBDC could improve fixed-income trading by making credit and settlement more efficient.
Regulators Support Innovation with Relaxed Rules
As it stands, in order to make these trials possible, Australia’s financial authority, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), has allowed temporary exemptions from certain rules. This special approval lets participants test digital asset use cases that aren’t yet covered by existing laws. ASIC’s Commissioner Kate O’Rourke explained that this move allows the technology to be tested responsibly while also spotting any risks early.
Meanwhile, the Australian government is working on a new legal framework for crypto exchanges. Authority in the land aims to bring them under financial services regulations announced earlier this year.
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