Australia Launches Next Phase of CBDC, Stablecoin Trials
Key Takeaways
Pilot to Test Multiple Digital Assets
The Reserve Bank of Australia’s trial will explore using stablecoins, bank deposit tokens, and a wholesale CBDC across 24 real-world and simulated use cases.
Major Banks and Fintechs Involved
Commonwealth Bank, ANZ, Westpac, and leading fintech firms are participating in the six-month initiative, focusing on improving settlement efficiency and liquidity in wholesale markets.
Regulatory Support Enables Innovation
With temporary relief from the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), the project allows participants to test emerging digital payment technologies outside existing legal frameworks.
Australia is leaning into the future of finance. On July 10, 2025, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) announced the official launch of Phase Two of Project Acacia.
Overview
In a statement on Thursday, the RBA announced that the trial will involve participants using stablecoins, bank deposit tokens, and a pilot version of a wholesale central bank digital currency (CBDC). This comprehensive six-month trial explores using CBDC, stablecoins, and bank deposit tokens within wholesale financial markets.
The trial combines major banks, fintech companies, and blockchain platforms to test 24 use cases, including 19 involving real money transactions and five proofs of concept using simulated assets. These will span various asset classes, from fixed income and trade receivables to private markets and carbon credits, examining new settlement mechanisms involving traditional and digital cash.
Major Banks and Fintechs Dive In
The trial includes three of Australia’s four major banks: Commonwealth Bank (CBA), ANZ, and Westpac, alongside fintech innovators like Fireblocks, Northern Trust, and Catena Digital. Their involvement highlights the collaborative approach between the private and public sectors.
- CBA and JPMorgan focus on the repo market, where digital currencies and ledger-based collateral records may improve efficiency, transparency, and liquidity while minimising risk.
- ANZ is developing tokenised trade payables to alleviate supplier challenges related to working capital and cash flow. It is also piloting tokenised fixed-income settlements using a wholesale CBDC.
- Westpac is similarly engaged, although specific roles have not been detailed; the bank will participate in multiple use-case testing alongside fintechs.
Blockchain platforms include Hedera, Redbelly, R3 Corda, and Canvas Connect, ensuring evaluations across diverse ecosystems.
Cud’s managing director of blockchain and digital assets, Sophie Gilder, said,
“The repo market, with its critical role in liquidity management and monetary policy implementation, represents an ideal starting point for this exploration.”
Regulatory Support and Strategic Context
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) is offering regulatory relief to enable the trial of digital assets that currently occur outside existing law. ASIC Commissioner Kate O’Rourke emphasised that this move permits “sensible testing—to explore opportunities and identify and tackle risks” in wholesale markets.
O’Rourke said,
“The relief from regulatory requirements that we have announced today will allow these technologies to be sensibly tested —to explore opportunities and identify and tackle risks.”
By engaging in Project Acacia, Australia distinguishes itself. While other central banks worldwide have progressed more cautiously—or even slowed efforts—Australia is doubling down on wholesale CBDC research. According to RBA Assistant Governor Brad Jones, the trial is intended to deepen understanding of how private and public digital money, alongside upgraded payments infrastructure, can “uplift the functioning of wholesale financial markets”.
Benefits, Risks, and the Road Ahead
Potential benefits from wholesale CBDC adoption include:
- Lower counterparty and operational risk, due to real-time settlement.
- Improved collateral efficiency, unlocking liquidity tied to financial transactions.
- Enhanced auditability and transparency, powered by distributed ledger technology.
- Reduced costs through streamlining traditional reconciliation processes.
However, critics stress the importance of balancing innovation and decentralisation. As one blockchain expert observed, Project Acacia leans heavily on permissioned (private) blockchains, which may reinforce centralised control:
“Project Acacia is not focused on open, permissionless blockchain technology… will be permissioned”
.
This raises concerns that, in pursuing efficiency, Australia may inadvertently prioritise centralised structures over blockchain’s decentralised principles.
What’s Next
The trial is scheduled for six months, and public reporting is expected to start in the first quarter of 2026. These results will inform future decisions regarding wholesale CBDC deployment, stablecoin integration, and the potential expansion into retail digital currency infrastructure.
As Australia charges ahead, the global financial community is watching closely. Will these early-stage pilots accelerate real-world implementation, or will they emphasise the limits of tokenisation in mainstream markets? The outcomes of Project Acacia may prove decisive—not only for Australia’s financial architecture, but for the global dialogue on CBDCs and stablecoins in institutional finance.