Australia’s central bank is advancing to the next stage of its exploration into digital currencies, announcing a new trial to test how digital money and tokenization can support wholesale financial markets. The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) stated on Thursday that it will work with partners to test stablecoins, bank deposit tokens, and a pilot wholesale CBDC under the second phase of Project Acacia. Project Acacia, launched with the Digital Finance Cooperative Research Centre last November, will run its phase two trials over the next six months, with results expected in early 2026. The pilot will test 24 use cases, including 19 with real funds and five proofs-of-concept using simulated transactions, covering asset classes such as fixed income, private markets, trade receivables, and carbon credits. Major Banks and Global Partners Join Trials Three of Australia’s “Big Four” banks—Commonwealth Bank (CBA), Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ), and Westpac—will participate in the trial, alongside local fintechs and global players. CBA will partner with JPMorgan to explore the potential of digital currencies and tokenized collateral in the repo market, which is critical for liquidity management and monetary policy. “The repo market represents an ideal starting point for this exploration,” said Sophie Gilder, CBA’s managing director of blockchain and digital assets. ANZ, meanwhile, will test tokenized trade payables to help suppliers improve working capital and cash flow management, and will conduct trials on tokenized fixed-income instruments using a wholesale CBDC to enable risk-free credit and liquidity settlement. These trials aim to assess how digital assets could bring efficiency, transparency, and liquidity to financial markets while reducing counterparty risk, with the pilot also examining the potential for banks to hold accounts at the RBA under new frameworks. Regulatory Support for Digital Asset Innovation in Australia The Australia Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has granted regulatory relief to trial participants, allowing them to test digital assets that currently fall outside existing legal frameworks. ASIC Commissioner Kate O’Rourke said the regulator sees “useful applications for the technologies underlying digital assets in wholesale markets” and emphasized the importance of “sensible testing to explore opportunities and identify and tackle risks.” Australia’s regulatory landscape for crypto is gradually evolving. Earlier this year, the government proposed a framework to regulate crypto exchanges under existing financial services laws and has pledged to work with major banks to better understand de-banking concerns. The post Australia Advances CBDC and Tokenization Trials with Major Banks Onboard appeared first on TheCoinrise.com .