tl;dr
Australia’s financial regulator has approved 14 firms to pilot real-money transactions using central bank digital currency and stablecoins in Project Acacia, a collaboration between the Reserve Bank of Australia and the Digital Finance Cooperative Research Centre. The project tests tokenized assets—...
Australia’s top financial watchdog has approved a select group of firms to pilot real-money transactions using central bank digital currency and stablecoins, marking the country’s most ambitious foray yet into tokenized finance. The Australian Securities and Investments Commission granted regulatory relief to 14 participants in Project Acacia, a collaboration between the Reserve Bank of Australia and the Digital Finance Cooperative Research Centre. The initiative tests how digital forms of money can support institutional trading of tokenized assets.
Tokenized assets, which are digital representations of real-world items like bonds, property, or commodities recorded on blockchain, enable fractional ownership and faster settlement of traditional financial instruments. Project Acacia represents Australia’s boldest push into this space, with potential annual economic benefits estimated at up to $12.4 billion. The 24 selected use cases cover diverse asset classes including fixed income, private markets, trade receivables, and carbon credits.
Major financial institutions such as ANZ, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, and Westpac will join fintech companies like Fireblocks and Zerocap in what officials describe as “world-first” testing scenarios. The regulatory relief supports streamlined pilot operations that would otherwise face barriers, enabling responsible tests of tokenized asset transactions between participants and financial institutions over the coming months.
Project Acacia employs permissioned blockchain technology, where access and transaction validation are restricted to approved participants and controlled by a consortium, contrasting with permissionless blockchains like Bitcoin or Ethereum that are open to anyone. Critics like Kadan Stadelmann, CTO of Komodo Platform, argue that government-backed projects lack true blockchain innovation by prioritizing centralized control over decentralization, potentially limiting transparency and innovation.
The pilot will see nineteen real-money and real-asset transaction cases alongside five proof-of-concept simulations. Settlement assets include stablecoins, bank deposit tokens, and a pilot wholesale central bank digital currency (CBDC). Issuance will occur across multiple distributed ledger platforms including Hedera, Redbelly Network, R3 Corda, Canvas Connect, and EVM-compatible networks. Testing will continue for six months with results expected in early 2026.
This initiative forms part of Australia’s broader strategy to foster a digital asset industry, but it has sparked debate about whether the focus on permissioned, centralized solutions might hold back the country compared to jurisdictions embracing open blockchains. Stadelmann warns that favoring centralized blockchain projects could entrench traditional financial systems further and increase financial control rather than foster genuine innovation.