Australia eyes AU$24B gain as RBA pushes tokenization in markets

The Reserve Bank of Australia said tokenization could bring AU$24 billion in yearly efficiency gains to the national economy. 

Meanwhile, the central bank used findings from Project Acacia to show that tokenized assets and tokenized money are moving closer to practical use in wholesale finance. It said the next stage will focus on implementation, industry coordination, and market testing.

Reserve Bank of Australia Assistant Governor Brad Jones said the central bank now sees tokenization as a question of “how” rather than “if.” He made the remarks while presenting findings from Project Acacia, which reviewed how tokenized assets and money could work in Australia’s wholesale financial system.

Jones said research from the Digital Finance Cooperative Research Centre estimated that tokenization could deliver AU$24 billion in annual efficiency gains. He also said the benefits could grow further if the technology supports the creation of new markets and services.

Project Acacia reviewed 20 use cases tied to tokenized assets, including government bonds, corporate bonds, repos, and investment funds. The project also tested settlement using four types of money, namely wholesale central bank digital currency, exchange settlement account balances, stablecoins, and bank deposit tokens.

The results showed that different forms of tokenized money may serve different roles. Jones said stablecoins could support smaller and newer tokenized markets, while bank deposit tokens may suit larger markets because banks already operate under prudential rules and have access to central bank liquidity facilities.

Moreover, Jones said stablecoins and bank deposit tokens could work in complementary ways rather than compete directly. This approach reflects the RBA’s current view that different tokenized payment tools may fit different parts of the wholesale market.

He also said market participants viewed a wholesale CBDC as “potentially helpful, but far from essential” for tokenized markets to develop. He pointed to the United States, where tokenized repo markets are already recording daily activity close to $400 billion without depending on a wholesale CBDC.

Sandbox and advisory groups set next steps

The RBA said it will work with the Council of Financial Regulators, the DFCRC, and industry participants on a set of new initiatives. A digital financial market infrastructure sandbox will provide a stage-gated setting for testing tokenized assets, money, and settlement systems.

The central bank will also review exchange settlement account access rules after payment service provider licensing reforms pass parliament. In addition, regulators and industry members will form a joint tokenisation advisory group, while an expanded Deposit Token Working Group will focus on interoperability between deposit tokens issued by different banks.