Australia Tests Stablecoins and CBDC in New Phase of Project Acacia

• Australia's central bank expands trials of CBDCs and stablecoins
• Acacia Project focuses on the liquidation of tokenized assets
• Australia explores the role of cryptoassets in the financial system

The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has launched a new phase of Project Acacia, an initiative that seeks to evaluate the use of cryptoassets and central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) in the settlement of tokenized assets in wholesale financial markets. The current phase involves the participation of fintechs, financial institutions, and major Australian banks.

Em official statement , the RBA announced that it will test 24 different use cases involving stablecoins, bank deposit tokens, and a pilot CBDC. The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) also supports the initiative and is granting regulatory relief to participants, allowing them to test digital asset transactions within a controlled environment.

$RBNT has been selected for the Reserve Bank of Australia's Project Acacia pilot

This marks the first time a public blockchain will be used in an official pilot by the RBA

The project will demonstrate how tokenized construction invoices can improve cash flow for builders and… pic.twitter.com/xLoFQKKBtc

— ＤＲＥＡＤ ＢＯＮＧＯ (@DreadBong0) July 10, 2025

Project Acacia is being conducted in partnership with the Digital Finance Cooperative Research Centre. The next phase will include trials of enhanced FX settlement accounts operated by banks with the RBA, as well as innovative blockchain-based payments infrastructure models.

Participants include major institutions such as the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, the Australia and New Zealand Banking Corporation (ANZ), and the Westpac Banking Corporation. According to the RBA, these trials are crucial to understanding how different types of digital assets can integrate into the current financial system.

“Project Acacia represents an opportunity for further collaborative exploration of tokenized asset markets and the future of money across the public and private sectors in Australia,” said Brad Jones, Assistant Governor for the Financial System at the RBA.

The Australian government has also shown growing interest in cryptoassets. In March, the National Treasury presented a plan to develop a regulatory framework specifically for digital assets, highlighting Project Acacia as a centerpiece of this strategy.

According to the RBA, the current CBDC pilot was designed from the outset with joint use with stablecoins in mind. The coexistence of different forms of digital money—such as CBDCs, stablecoins, and bank tokens—is still under analysis in the country.