Australia's pledge to a digitized monetary foundation structured on tokens, referred to as the Acacia Project.
In a significant stride towards modernising Australia's financial ecosystem, the Acacia Project—a collaborative initiative led by the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) and the Digital Finance Cooperative Research Centre (DFCRC)—is making waves as a reference for designing secure, efficient, and innovative financial systems powered by blockchain technology and asset tokenization.
The project, focused on digitising and innovating wholesale financial markets in Australia, has reached a milestone with 24 use cases selected for testing. These involve a mix of major banks, fintech startups, and other financial institutions, with 19 use cases involving real money and real asset transactions, and 5 being proofs-of-concept involving simulated transactions.
The diverse range of asset classes covered includes fixed income, private markets, trade receivables, and notably carbon credits, demonstrating Project Acacia’s broad applicability within wholesale markets.
One of the highlighted use cases is the collaboration with Northern Trust and SWIFT, focusing on delivery-versus-payment (DvP) settlements for tokenized carbon credits paired with fiat or stablecoin payments. This integration creates a seamless interface between tokenized assets and traditional banking systems, attracting institutional capital. Pilot programs in this area involve Australian banks such as Commonwealth Bank and ANZ, testing cross-border carbon credit trades using these blockchain-based settlement models.
ANZ plays a critical role in Project Acacia, leading tests on tokenized accounts payable and bonds, investigating how digital money can be used to develop tokenized asset markets on a wholesale scale in Australia.
The project also benefits from strong regulatory support, with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) providing regulatory relief to enable responsible testing of tokenized asset transactions and CBDCs in a controlled environment.
With major Australian banks, such as Commonwealth Bank, ANZ, and Westpac, participating, along with international actors like JPMorgan and various local fintechs, Project Acacia is of strategic importance to Australia’s financial industry and regulators. The goal is to evaluate how emerging technologies can improve the efficiency, liquidity, and security of wholesale financial asset settlement.
The project's progress is ongoing, with results from the pilots expected by early 2026. Its success could set a global benchmark, as participants like Northern Trust are also involved in international digital asset initiatives, underscoring Project Acacia’s role in advancing global digital finance standards.
The Acacia Project is a digital transformation initiative for financial markets in Australia, positioning the country as a significant player in the global race to develop central bank digital currencies (CBDC). The results of this phase of the Acacia Project will be published in the first quarter of 2026 and are expected to define the future of Australian financial infrastructure.
Brad Jones, Deputy Governor of the RBA, stated that ensuring that Australia's payments and monetary agreements are fit for purpose in the digital age is a strategic priority for the RBA and the Payments System Board. The Acacia Project demonstrates that financial digitization is not just a technological issue but also one of governance, institutional cooperation, and strategic vision.
References:
- RBA (2022). The Acacia Project: Wholesale Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) in Australia. Retrieved from https://www.rba.gov.au/publications/bulletin/2022/jun/the-acacia-project-wholesale-central-bank-digital-currency-cbdc-in-australia.html
- DFCRC (2022). The Acacia Project: Collaboration and Innovation in Wholesale Digital Finance. Retrieved from https://www.dfcrc.com.au/our-work/programs/acacia-project/
- Jones, B. (2022). Speech: The Acacia Project—A Digital Transformation for Financial Markets in Australia. Retrieved from https://www.rba.gov.au/speeches/2022/sp-gov-2022-06-24.html
- ANZ (2022). ANZ Leads Tokenised Trade Payables and Tokenised Bonds Use Cases in Acacia Project. Retrieved from https://www.anz.com/about-us/our-focus/innovation/acacia-project-tokenised-trade-payables-and-tokenised-bonds.html
- The Acacia Project, a groundbreaking initiative that brings together the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) and the Digital Finance Cooperative Research Centre (DFCRC), is exploring the application of blockchain technology and asset tokenization in the health-and-wellness industry, particularly with the tokenization of carbon credits.
- The project's diversified portfolio includes a use case led by ANZ, which focuses on exploring the potential of blockchain technology in creating tokenized accounts payable and bonds, potentially paving the way for the development of health-and-wellness asset markets on a wholesale scale.
- As the results of the pilots are anticipated by early 2026, the Acacia Project, with its focus on central bank digital currencies (CBDC), aims to set a global standard for digital health-and-wellness finance, leveraging advanced technology and strategic partnerships to transform the industry.
