Australia Expands Digital Currency Trials with Project Acacia as CBDC Race Heats Up

Australia’s Central Bank is taking the next step in its digital currency journey. On Thursday, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) announced a new trial to explore how digital money could improve Australia’s wholesale tokenised asset markets.

Project Acacia is a joint effort between the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) and the Digital Finance Cooperative Research Centre (DFCRC). It is also backed by ASIC, APRA, and the Australian Treasury.

Project Acacia Enters Next Phase

As part of the project, the RBA will test stablecoins, digital bank deposits, and a trial version of CBDCs. The project started last November with the Digital Finance Cooperative Research Centre, and it aims to explore how new technology can make finance faster, safer, and more efficient.

Project Acacia is entering its next phase with 24 use cases selected from a mix of participants, including fintech startups and major banks. Of these, 19 will involve real money and asset transactions, while 5 will be proof-of-concept trials using simulated transactions. Brad Jones, Assistant Governor (Financial System) at the RBA, said-

“The use cases selected in this project will help us to better understand how innovations in central bank and private digital money, alongside payments infrastructure, might help to uplift the functioning of wholesale financial markets in Australia.”

Trials to Run on Multiple Blockchain Platforms

The use cases cover various asset types, including bonds, private markets, trade receivables, and carbon credits. They will explore the use of stablecoins, bank deposit tokens, a pilot wholesale CBDC, and new ways of using banks’ existing exchange settlement accounts at the RBA.

The trial will run across multiple blockchain platforms, including Hedera, Redbelly Network, R3 Corda, Canvas Connect, and other EVM-compatible networks.

ASIC Offers Regulatory Relief

ASIC is also making it easier for companies to join Project Acacia by offering regulatory relief. Similar support was given in earlier RBA digital money projects. 

CBA is partnering with the RBA and DFCRC in Project Acacia to explore how digital assets can improve efficiency, liquidity, and reduce risk in Australia’s $350 billion repo market. Alongside J.P. Morgan, ASX, HQLAX, and Deutsche Börse Group, the project will test the use of digital currencies and tokenized collateral.

The repo market is a critical and growing component of the Australian financial system.

“The repo market, with its critical role in liquidity management and monetary policy implementation, represents an ideal starting point for this exploration,” said Sophie Gilder, CBA’s managing director of blockchain and digital assets. 

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What’s Next for Project Acacia?

Testing will run over the next six months. A final report is expected in Q1 2026 and will help shape the RBA’s thinking on how digital finance can support Australia’s economy.

Australia’s major banks – the Commonwealth Bank (CBA), the Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ), and Westpac Banking Corporation are taking part in the Project Acacia pilot. 

The Global Shift

Notably, several countries are testing or exploring CBDCs. The Bank of Japan is stepping up its work on a digital yen. It began testing a pilot programme for CBDC in 2023 and is now working with private companies and the government on its design.

President Trump recently banned the Federal Reserve from issuing a digital dollar, backing cryptocurrencies instead. The European Central Bank (ECB) is also pushing for a digital euro to reduce reliance on U.S. payment providers and keep up in the global shift to digital money.

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