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Australia's Central Bank Kicks Off CBDC Research Project With ConsenSys as Partner

The partnership, which also includes top Australian banks, will explore the possible use and implications of a wholesale form of central bank digital currency using distributed ledger technology.

By Kevin Reynolds
Updated Sep 14, 2021, 10:26 a.m. Published Nov 1, 2020, 11:28 p.m.
Sydney, Australia
Sydney, Australia

The Australian central bank announced Monday it's partnering with Commonwealth Bank, National Australia Bank, Perpetual and ConsenSys to explore the possible use and implications of a wholesale form of central bank digital currency (CBDC) using distributed ledger technology (DLT).

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  • The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) said the project will involve the development of a proof-of-concept (POC) for the issuance of a tokenized form of CBDC for use by wholesale market participants for the funding, settlement and repayment of a tokenized syndicated loan on an Ethereum-based DLT platform.
  • The RBA also said the project will look into other potential programmability and automation features of a tokenized CBDC and financial assets.
  • "We are aiming to explore the implications of a CBDC for efficiency, risk management and innovation in wholesale financial market transactions," Assistant Governor of the RBA (Financial System) Michele Bullock said.
  • "We are pleased to be collaborating with industry partners to explore if there is a future role for a wholesale CBDC in the Australian payments system," Bullock added.
  • The project is expected to be completed around the end of 2020 and a report will be issued on the project during the first half of next year, the central bank said.

See also: Australia to Spend $575M on Tech Including Blockchain to Boost Pandemic Recovery

Reserve Bank of AustraliaConsenSysCBDCsCoinFlash

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