Australia Launches Project Acacia CBDC Pilot to Test Digital Money in Wholesale Finance

Highlights:

• Australia begins testing digital money in wholesale markets through the second phase of Project Acacia.
• Major banks join the CBDC pilot to explore real use cases for stablecoins and tokenized settlement systems.
• ASIC allows limited rule exemptions to support trials of digital assets under Project Acacia.

Australia’s central bank has started live testing of digital money in wholesale markets. The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) confirmed that the trial marks the second CBDC pilot phase of Project Acacia. The RBA will assess how stablecoins, bank-issued deposit tokens, and wholesale central bank digital currency can support financial transactions.

AUSTRALIA ADVANCES CBDC AND STABLECOIN TRIALS UNDER PROJECT ACACIA

Reserve Bank of Australia set to test wholesale CBDCs and tokenized $USDT in new market pilots.

Project Acacia aims to explore digital money's impact on Australia’s financial markets.

Focus is on improving…

— CryptoEdge (@EdGeraldX) July 10, 2025

The Digital Finance Cooperative Research Centre is working with the RBA on this trial. Both partners selected 24 use cases for testing. Nineteen of these will use real money, while five will use simulated transactions. The trial will explore asset classes such as fixed income, trade receivables, private markets, and carbon credits.

Several banks and fintech companies will participate in this six-month trial. The project will also examine how financial institutions can use their exchange settlement accounts at the RBA in new ways. The RBA plans to publish the final results in the first quarter of 2026.

RBA assistant governor Brad Jones stated that Project Acacia helps both public and private sectors explore digital money’s role in wholesale markets. He emphasized that the selected use cases aim to improve how transactions work within Australia’s financial system.

Major Banks Join CBDC Pilot to Explore New Settlement Systems

Three of Australia’s major banks have joined the CBDC Pilot under Project Acacia. They are the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA), Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ), and Westpac Banking Corporation. The banks will coordinate individual test cases with other financial players.

CBA will collaborate with JPMorgan in testing the potential that digital currencies and collateral records can offer in enhancing transactions in the repo market. The repo market enables daily liquidity control by banks using short-term secured loans. CBA will use tokenized assets to facilitate the reduction of risk and enhance its efficiency.

Meanwhile, ANZ will pilot-test tokenized trade payables. The main aim of this test is to assist the suppliers in managing better working capital and cash flow. ANZ will also engage in exploring tokenized fixed-income assets and settling wholesale CBDC transactions with minimized risk.

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has granted temporary relief to trial participants. This relief allows firms to test digital assets not yet covered by financial rules. ASIC Commissioner Kate O’Rourke said the agency wants to support technology while managing potential risks in wholesale markets.

Government Backs Tokenization Shift in Broader Crypto Strategy

The government of Australia is still advocating a robust digital asset policy. In March, the Treasury released a new framework, which expands the application of existing financial laws to crypto exchanges. The blueprint will offer the much-needed regulatory governance on the expanding digital finance industry.

Authorities have also collaborated with big financial institutions in researching the de-banking dynamics of the crypto world. Through this dialogue, the government can realize how traditional finance can be related to digital assets. In 2022, the Treasury initiated consultations to formulate a national crypto strategy. The Acacia CBDC pilot is playing a significant role in that larger scheme. The outcomes of the test will serve as a guideline in making future decisions regarding tokenization and digital money in wholesale markets.