Australian Reserve Bank commences its CBDC (Central bank Digital Currency) project with the Digital Finance Cooperative Research Centre. Both entities will explore uses cases for a central bank digital currency in Australia.
The project with the DFCRC will focus on innovative use cases and business models that could be supported by the issuance of a CBDC. The project will also be an opportunity to further understanding of some of the technological, legal and regulatory considerations associated with a CBDC.
The project is expected to take a year to complete. It will entail the development of a limited scale CBDC pilot that will operate in a ring-fenced environment for a period of time and is intended to involve a pilot
Interested industry participants will be invited to develop specific use cases that demonstrate how a CBDC could be used to provide innovative and value-added payment and settlement services to households and businesses.
The Central Bank of Australia and the DFCRC will select a range of different use cases to participate in the pilot, based on their potential to provide insights into the possible benefits of a CBDC.
A report on the findings from the project, including an assessment of the various use cases developed, will be published at the conclusion. The findings will contribute to on-going research into the desirability and feasibility of a CBDC in Australia.
The Australian Treasury will be a member of the steering committee for the project, as part of its joint work with the Reserve Bank on exploring the viability of a CBDC in Australia.
“This project is an important next step in our research on CBDC. We are looking forward to engaging with a wide range of industry participants to better understand the potential benefits a CBDC could bring to Australia,” said Michele Bullock, Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank.
Dr Andreas Furche, CEO of the DFCRC, said, “CBDC is no longer a question of technological feasibility. The key research questions now are what economic benefits a CBDC could enable, and how it could be designed to maximise those benefits.”
