Australia Advances Wholesale Tokenized Asset Pilot with Project Acacia

Australia's financial ecosystem is taking a decisive step toward digital asset innovation with the launch of Project Acacia's wholesale tokenized asset pilot. The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) and the Digital Finance Cooperative Research Centre (DFCRC) are spearheading the initiative, backed by key regulators including ASIC, APRA, and the Treasury.

Twenty-four use cases—19 live pilots and five simulated proofs-of-concept—will explore tokenization across fixed income, private markets, trade receivables, and carbon credits. Settlement mechanisms under scrutiny include stablecoins, bank deposit tokens, and a pilot wholesale CBDC, alongside novel uses of traditional exchange settlement accounts.

The project aligns with the government's March 2025 digital asset roadmap, engaging diverse participants from fintech startups to major banks. This structured experimentation signals institutional recognition of blockchain's potential to reshape wholesale finance infrastructure.