Australia to Pilot CBDCs and Real-World Assets in Bold Blockchain Expansion

Project Acacia is a collaborative effort between the RBA and the Digital Finance Cooperative Research Centr (DFCRC), aiming to assess how various forms of digital money, such as stablecoins, bank deposit tokens, and a pilot wholesale central bank digital currency (CBDC), can enhance the efficiency and resilience of Australia's wholesale financial markets.

The trial encompasses 24 innovative use cases, with 19 involving real transactions and five serving as proof-of-concept simulations. These use cases span a diverse range of asset classes, including fixed income securities, private markets, trade receivables, and carbon credits. The objective is to evaluate how tokenization, the process of converting rights to an asset into a digital token on a blockchain, can streamline processes, reduce costs, and improve transparency in financial transactions.

To facilitate these trials, the RBA has partnered with several major financial institutions and technology firms. Notably, three of Australia's four major banks, Commonwealth Bank, Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ), and Westpac are participating in the pilot. These institutions will collaborate with technology providers such as Hedera, Redbelly, R3 Corda, and Canvas Connect to test the issuance and settlement of digital assets on various blockchain platforms.

Regulatory support has been a critical component of Project Acacia's advancement. The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has granted temporary relief from certain regulatory requirements to allow for the live testing of digital dollar transactions. This measure aims to enable responsible innovation while ensuring that potential risks are identified and addressed effectively.

The RBA’s focus on wholesale CBDC development over a retail version is based on its assessment that the potential benefits, such as reducing counterparty and operational risks, increasing transparency, and lowering costs for institutions and customers are more substantial in the wholesale context. The central bank has indicated that, while a retail CBDC remains under consideration, its implementation would require further evaluation and likely legislative changes.

Project Acacia is part of a broader governmental strategy to integrate digital assets into Australia's economy. In March 2025, the Australian Treasury released a statement outlining plans to develop an innovative digital asset industry, including the establishment of regulatory frameworks for digital asset platforms and payment stablecoins. This approach aims to align with international best practices and position Australia as a leader in the global digital asset ecosystem.

The current phase of Project Acacia is expected to run for six months, with findings and insights to be published in the first half of 2026. The outcomes of this trial will inform future policy decisions and could potentially pave the way for the broader adoption of digital currencies and tokenized assets in Australia's financial markets.

One potential long-term outcome of Project Acacia is the establishment of interoperable digital infrastructure across multiple asset classes. By enabling different forms of digital money and tokenized assets to function seamlessly on shared or interconnected platforms, the RBA and its partners aim to create a more agile and resilient financial system. If successful, this model could be adapted for cross-border use, positioning Australia as a regional hub for tokenized finance and setting standards for other advanced economies exploring similar initiatives.

The trial also underscores Australia's ambition to keep pace with global digital finance trends, particularly those emerging from Asia and Europe. Countries like Singapore, Japan, and the EU have accelerated their exploration of tokenized settlements and wholesale CBDCs.