Australia Could Gain $16.7B From Stablecoins and Tokenization

Australia’s central bank has said stablecoins and bank deposit tokens will both play important roles in the country’s tokenization push, which could generate around $16.7 billion in yearly efficiency gains. The focus is now shifting from whether tokenization will happen to how it will be implemented.

Australia Tokenization Market Could Generate $16.7 Billion in Gains

The Reserve Bank of Australia said tokenization of assets and money could generate AU$24 billion (about $16.7 billion) per year in efficiency gains for the Australian economy. 

These savings would come from faster settlements, lower transaction costs, reduced paperwork, and fewer intermediaries in financial markets.

This includes faster settlement, lower transaction costs, fewer intermediaries, and more efficient financial markets. The central bank studied around 20 different tokenization use cases, including government bonds, corporate bonds, investment funds, and repo markets.

Stablecoins and Deposit Tokens Will Work Together

The central bank explained that stablecoins and bank deposit tokens will not compete but instead work together in tokenised markets. 

Stablecoins are expected to be used more in smaller and newer digital markets, while bank deposit tokens will likely be used in larger and more regulated financial markets because they are backed by banks and supported by central bank liquidity.

This shows that the future financial system may include multiple types of digital money working together instead of just one system like a CBDC.

Australia Plans Digital Sandbox for Tokenised Finance

To support tokenisation, the Reserve Bank of Australia plans to launch a digital financial infrastructure sandbox where companies can test tokenised assets, digital money, and settlement systems. Regulators and industry companies will work together to solve legal and technical challenges.

Interestingly, the central bank also said that a wholesale CBDC is helpful but not necessary for tokenized markets to grow. 

In fact, tokenized repo markets in the United States already process around $400 billion in daily transactions, showing that tokenization is already growing globally.