Australia Advances Wholesale CBDC Pilot with 24 Industry Participants

The Reserve Bank of Australia has selected 24 financial institutions and technology firms to participate in the next phase of its wholesale central bank digital currency (CBDC) initiative, Project Acacia. The six-month pilot will test 19 live transactions and five theoretical scenarios across fixed income, private markets, and emerging asset classes like carbon credits.

Settlement mechanisms will employ a mix of digital assets including stablecoins, bank-issued tokens, and experimental CBDCs running on distributed ledger platforms such as Hedera, R3 Corda, and Canvas Connect. Regulatory relief from ASIC removes standard licensing barriers, enabling real-money testing between authorized entities.

Major banks including Commonwealth Bank and ANZ join specialized firms like Fireblocks in exploring how tokenized settlement could streamline wholesale markets. Findings from this ambitious cross-industry collaboration are anticipated by Q1 2026.