TL;DR
RBA: Tokenization is no longer a «whether», but a «how»
The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) takes a clear stance: The tokenization of financial instruments will be «revolutionary» for the country's financial markets. Cointelegraph reports this, citing a statement from RBA Assistant Governor Brad Jones.
«We are no longer looking at the question of whether tokenization has a future in Australia's financial system, but rather what that future will look like,» Jones is reported to have said in connection with the launch of the project's next phase.
The statement marks a remarkable shift in tone from a G20 central bank, and comes at a time when many Western central banks are still in an early investigative phase.
Project Acacia: 24 Use Cases with Real Money
The engine of the central bank's initiative is «Project Acacia», a collaborative project between the RBA and the Digital Finance Cooperative Research Centre (DFCRC). The project is not a theoretical exercise — 19 of 24 use cases are conducted with real money and real assets, while the remaining five are proofs of concept with simulated transactions.
Among the instruments being tested are government bonds, corporate bonds, repurchase agreements (repos), tokenized investment funds, private equity, trade credits, and Australian carbon credits. For settlement, a combination of stablecoins, bank deposit tokens, and a wholesale pilot CBDC is used.
The technology platforms used include Hedera, R3 Corda, Redbelly Network, and EVM-compatible chains — a sign that the RBA is deliberately avoiding locking itself into a single technology stack.
A total of 24 industry players are participating, from large institutions such as ANZ, Commonwealth Bank, and Westpac, to fintechs like Fireblocks and Zerocap.
What Drives the Gain Estimates?
The RBA's estimate of AU$24 billion (equivalent to USD 16.7 billion) is an upward adjustment from earlier calculations of AU$1–4 billion in transaction cost savings — estimated back in 2023. The large revision is due to now including a broader set of efficiencies.
Key drivers include:
- Atomic settlement: Money transfer and asset transfer occur simultaneously on the same ledger, significantly reducing counterparty risk
- Fewer intermediaries: Smart contracts automate asset lifecycle management and reduce the need for manual processes
- Increased liquidity: Tokenized platforms enable 24/7 trading, compared to today's limited trading windows
- Collateral mobility: Digital assets can be moved faster and more flexibly as collateral
ANZ's Head of Banking Services, Nigel Dobson, describes the pilots as a unique opportunity to investigate how tokenized assets and digital money can create new efficiencies and resilience in the financial system, according to Cointelegraph.
Regulatory Facilitation and Critical Caveats
The Australian financial supervisory authority ASIC has granted temporary regulatory relief to project participants, making it easier to conduct real transactions in the pilot phase. This is an important signal that authorities are coordinated in their approach — which is not a given internationally.
Professor Talis Putnins at DFCRC emphasizes, according to Cointelegraph, that the use of real money in the settlement models — including the issuance of pilot CBDC on third-party platforms — represents «a new world record» in this field.
It is nevertheless worth noting that the gain estimates are the central bank's own projections, based on pilot results that have not yet been fully published. A full report from Project Acacia is expected in the first quarter of 2026. Until then, the large figures should be treated as indications rather than documented facts.
What Happens Next?
The report release will be a key milestone. It will provide the market with a more detailed picture of which use cases actually delivered, and which hit a wall in the face of regulatory or technological barriers.
For the global adoption of tokenized finance, Australia's experiences will in any case be valuable reference points. Norges Bank and other Nordic central banks, all of which are in early CBDC and tokenization phases, will likely follow the project's conclusions closely.
