The Reserve Bank of Australia Launches Project Acacia with 24 Use Cases, Testing Digital Currency on Public and Private Networks.
The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has officially launched Project Acacia, a groundbreaking initiative aimed at testing wholesale Central Bank Digital Currency on various blockchain platforms. The project was first announced at the end of 2024, marking an important step in modernizing Australia's payment system and exploring the potential of Distributed Ledger technology in the wholesale financial sector.
A highlight of the project is that wCBDC will be issued on multiple blockchains and DLT platforms, including both public and private networks. Australian Payments Plus is participating in the public Hedera network, while other DLT platforms used in the trial include Redbelly Network, R3 Corda, Canvas Connect, and several EVM-compatible networks. This multi-platform approach allows RBA to assess the effectiveness and interoperability of different blockchain technologies.
Project Acacia is a collaborative project between RBA and the Digital Finance Cooperative Research Centre (DFCRC), with support from the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) through regulatory exemptions during the 6-month trial period. The project will support payments for encoded asset transactions through stablecoins, encoded deposits, or wCBDC trials.
Large-Scale Experiment with Participation of Major Banks
A total of 24 use cases have been selected, with 19 real-money use cases, demonstrating the project's seriousness and practical scale. 14 companies will participate, including three of Australia's four largest banks and Northern Trust. However, the National Australia Bank is not among the participating parties.
Brad Jones, RBA's Deputy Governor for Financial System, emphasized that ensuring Australia's payment and monetary system is digital-era appropriate is a strategic priority. He stated that the use cases in the project will help RBA better understand how innovation in digital currency can enhance the efficiency of Australia's wholesale financial market.
Like many other global test programs, the project includes various asset types such as fixed income, private markets, commercial receivables, and carbon credits. Project Acacia takes place in a global context witnessing similar programs, including wholesale DLT securities payment trials in Europe, the Ensemble Project in Hong Kong, and the Helvetia Project in Switzerland, which is already operating in a production environment despite being in a two-year trial phase.
