Australia Charges Ahead: Groundbreaking CBDC, Stablecoin & Tokenization Trials Set to Reshape Finance

Down Under just dropped a crypto bombshell—regulators are rolling out real-world tests for central bank digital currencies, stablecoins, and tokenized assets. Move over, kangaroos—this might be Australia's fastest-moving financial experiment yet.

The digital dollar gets its day

Phase one targets a live CBDC pilot, putting the Reserve Bank's digital currency through retail and wholesale payment scenarios. Early whispers suggest commercial banks will act as guinea pigs (shocking, we know).

Stablecoins enter the regulatory thunderdome

After years of 'wait-and-see' posturing, Treasury plans to stress-test dollar-pegged tokens against actual banking infrastructure. Because nothing says 'stable' like watching Tether wrestle with SWIFT.

Wall Street meets blockchain—for real this time

The tokenization push aims to bridge traditional finance with on-chain assets, because apparently 2025's bankers finally realized blockchain does more than power JPEG monkey auctions. One treasury official quipped: 'We're either building the future or creating fantastic new ways to lose taxpayer money—stay tuned!'

— crypto NG (@NG_crypto_trend) July 10, 2025

On 10 July 2025, the RBA said in a press release, “Project Acacia has today reached a significant milestone with a number of industry participants selected to explore how innovations in digital money and existing settlement infrastructure might support the development of Australian wholesale tokenised asset markets.”

Brad Jones, Assistant Governor at the RBA said, “Ensuring that Australia’s payments and monetary arrangements are fit-for-purpose in the digital age is a strategic priority for the RBA and the Payments System Board.”

Explore: 9+ Best High-Risk, High–Reward Crypto to Buy in July 2025

More About Project Acacia

Project Acacia is a coordinated, large pilot involving a diverse group of participants. It includes local fintech startups, major Australian banks and global financial institutions.

“Project Acacia represents an opportunity for further collaborative exploration on tokenised asset markets and the future of money by the public and private sectors in Australia,” said Jones. “The use cases selected in this project will help us to better understand how innovations in central bank and private digital money, alongside payments infrastructure, might help to uplift the functioning of wholesale financial markets in Australia.”

Proposed settlement assets for the use cases include stablecoins, bank deposit tokens, and pilot wholesale CBDCs. Moreover, they include new ways of using banks’ existing exchange settlement accounts at the RBA.

Furthermore, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) Commissioner Kate O’Rourke weighed in. She said, “ASIC sees useful applications for the technologies underlying digital assets in wholesale markets. The relief from regulatory requirements that we have announced today will allow these technologies to be sensibly tested—to explore opportunities and identify and tackle risks.”

Australia Proposes New Crypto Framework

Australia’s Labor-led government has unveiled a new regulatory framework. It aims at bringing crypto exchanges and related services under the country’s existing financial services laws.

The announcement was made by the Treasury Department on 21 March 2025. This marked a significant step toward formalizing oversight of the digital asset industry. 

Under the proposal, crypto exchanges, custodians, and select brokerage firms involved in trading or storing digital assets will be required to obtain an Australian Financial Services Licence. Moreover, they will also have to comply with capital requirements and customer asset protection rules.

Key Takeaways

• Australia is running a major trial of CBDCs, stablecoins, and tokenized assets in wholesale financial markets.

• Meanwhile, the Australian government is actively working on broader crypto regulation and industry engagement.