The Reserve Bank of Australia, together with the Digital Finance Corporate Research Center, is launching a pilot project to explore practical use cases for CBDC.
Previously, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) conducted preliminary studies on the possible technical design of the state cryptocurrency (CBDC), in particular, studied the potential use of distributed ledger technology in the financial sector. At the moment, the question of applied options for using the digital currency of the Central Bank and the potential economic benefits from its implementation has not been closed.
The joint project of the RBA and the Digital Finance Corporate Research Center (DFCRC) will focus on the technological, legal and regulatory aspects of “innovative business models”, the development of which can be supported by the issuance of a government digital currency.
The pilot project will last about a year and will be tested for a limited number of participants working in an isolated environment. Upon completion of the project, the Central Bank of Australia and DFCRC will select the most effective options for using CBDC, based on their potential.
“This project will be an important step in the CBDC research. We look forward to talking to a wide range of stakeholders to better understand the potential benefits that a CBDC can bring to Australia,” said RBA Deputy Governor Michele Bullock.
The Central Bank of Australia intends to publish a document with more details about the project in the next few months, as well as to receive the approval of the Ministry of Finance of the country, which is participating in the pilot project as a member of the steering committee to study the viability of the CBDC.
In early August, the Central Bank of Japan notified the community that it was ending work on its own digital currency project due to a lack of public interest.
