Wholesale Central Bank Digital Currency
A wholesale CBDC would be a digital form of money, issued by the RBA, that is accessible to a limited range of wholesale market participants, such as financial institutions and, depending on the design of this form of money, other large institutions. It would be designed for use in wholesale payment and settlement systems.
The RBA has not made any decision on introducing a wholesale CBDC. We continue to undertake research on the financial market implications of a wholesale CBDC and which markets could derive the most value. We are also investigating private sector innovations that could serve in place of or complement a wholesale CBDC. We have been collaborating with external parties on this research and will continue to do so. Below is a summary of the research we have done on wholesale CBDC so far.
Projects and publications
Project Acacia – Exploring the role of digital money in wholesale tokenised asset markets
In November 2024 the RBA, alongside the Digital Finance Cooperative Research Centre (DFCRC), published a joint consultation paper which describes a joint research initiative to explore how different forms of digital money and associated infrastructure could support the development of wholesale tokenised asset markets in Australia. Following an initial desktop research phase undertaken by the RBA and DFCRC, the consultation paper seeks feedback from industry on, and expressions of interest to participate in, the second phase of this project which will involve exploration and experimentation on approaches to tokenised asset settlement. An Industry Advisory Group will be established to provide broad-based industry input to the project.
Industry stakeholders are invited to:
- Respond to the consultation questions in the paper – by completing Part 1 of the Response Template (link to template below).
- Register their interest in participating in the experimental research phase of Project Acacia in 2025 – by completing Part 2 of the Response Template.
- Register their interest in joining the Industry Advisory Group for Project Acacia – by completing Part 3 of the Response Template.
Submissions are due by Wednesday, 11 December 2024.
The RBA and DFCRC welcome engagement with industry stakeholders on this paper during the consultation period. All enquiries and submissions should be directed to ProjectAcacia@rba.gov.au.
Australian CBDC Pilot for Digital Finance Innovation
The RBA is an industry partner in the Digital Finance Cooperative Research Centre (DFCRC), which brings together industry, academic, and regulatory stakeholders to investigate the opportunities arising from the transformation of financial markets through the digitisation of assets that can be traded and exchanged directly and in real-time on digital platforms. In 2023, the RBA and the DFCRC collaborated on a research project to explore use cases for a CBDC in Australia. The project also provided an opportunity to further the RBA’s understanding of some of the technological, legal and regulatory considerations associated with a CBDC.
Australian CBDC Pilot for Digital Finance Innovation project report
Initial Digital Finance Cooperative Research Centre Announcement
Media release issued on 9 August announcing commencement of research project
‘Australian CBDC Pilot for Digital Finance Innovation’ 821KB (White Paper)
Project Atom
This was a collaborative project undertaken in 2020–2021 between the RBA, National Australia Bank, Perpetual and ConsenSys, with additional input from King & Wood Mallesons. The project involved the development of a proof of concept for the issuance of a tokenised form of CBDC that could be used by wholesale market participants for the funding, settlement and repayment of a tokenised syndicated loan on an Ethereum-based DLT platform.
Project Atom report 780KB
Project Dunbar
This was a collaborative project undertaken in 2021–2022 between the BIS Innovation Hub, the RBA, Bank Negara Malaysia, Monetary Authority of Singapore and the South African Reserve Bank. The project explored whether using a shared DLT platform for issuing multiple wholesale CBDCs could improve the efficiency, speed and transparency of cross-border payments.
Project Dunbar report 4.7MB