Share this article
Australia Poised to Create National Blockchain With IBM Tech
An Australian federal agency is developing a blockchain that will allow businesses to carry out transactions based on smart legal contracts.
By Wolfie Zhao
Updated Sep 13, 2021, 8:19 a.m. Published Aug 29, 2018, 1:10 p.m.
An Australian federal agency is developing a national blockchain that will allow businesses to carry out transactions based on smart legal contracts.
The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) said on Wednesday that its research arm, Data61, is working with law firm Herbert Smith Freehills and IBM to conduct a pilot for a new platform called the Australian National Blockchain (ANB).
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
Don't miss another story.Subscribe to the Crypto Daybook Americas Newsletter today. See all newsletters
The technology is aimed to let businesses automate transactions based on pre-defined legal terms – designed to comply with Australian regulations – coded into smart contracts on top of an IBM-powered blockchain network.
The scheme will set up smart contracts that have the ability to record external data sources, such as from internet of things (IoT) devices, and can self-execute once specified conditions are met.
"For example, construction site sensors could record the time and date of a delivery of a load on the blockchain and trigger a smart contract between the construction company and the bank that would automatically notify the bank that terms have been met to provide payment on that load delivery," the agency explained in the announcement.
The group said the pilot is expected to start by the end of 2018 and that it plans to invite regulators, banks, law firms and other businesses in the country to participate. Ultimately, it plans that Australian companies can join the network to harness its digitized contracts, swap data and confirm the authenticity and status of legal contracts.
The effort follows recent research conducted by Data61 in 2017, with research scientist Dr. Mark Staples saying that distributed ledger technology is a "significant opportunity for Australia to create productivity benefits and drive local innovation."
CSIRO indicated it intends to launch the technology to markets besides Australia if the pilot test proves successful.
Sydney image via Shutterstock
More For You
What to know:
- As of October 2025, GoPlus has generated $4.7M in total revenue across its product lines. The GoPlus App is the primary revenue driver, contributing $2.5M (approx. 53%), followed by the SafeToken Protocol at $1.7M.
- GoPlus Intelligence's Token Security API averaged 717 million monthly calls year-to-date in 2025 , with a peak of nearly 1 billion calls in February 2025. Total blockchain-level requests, including transaction simulations, averaged an additional 350 million per month.
- Since its January 2025 launch , the $GPS token has registered over $5B in total spot volume and $10B in derivatives volume in 2025. Monthly spot volume peaked in March 2025 at over $1.1B , while derivatives volume peaked the same month at over $4B.
More For You
Ether, Dogecoin, Solana Slide as Bitcoin Fails to Sustain Early-Week Breakout
The pullback followed Tuesday's brief spike above $94,500, a move that triggered a minor short squeeze but failed to break the resistance that has capped bitcoin for most of the past three weeks.
What to know:
- Bitcoin fell toward $90,000 as crypto markets lost ground despite a Federal Reserve rate cut.
- Over $514 million in leveraged positions were liquidated, with major tokens like Ether and Solana also declining.
- Analysts suggest Bitcoin must surpass $94,000 to signal a significant rebound, amid concerns over macroeconomic conditions and market liquidity.
Top Stories
