Australia Lays Groundwork for Tokenized Asset Markets After RBA Project
Australia’s central bank is actively developing the legal and market infrastructure for tokenized asset markets, aiming to support their large-scale integration into the financial system. Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) Assistant Governor Brad Jones stated tokenization is no longer a question of “if,” but “how,” following the completion of the RBA’s Project Acacia, which researched tokenized assets and money. The RBA plans to collaborate with regulators and industry on a digital market sandbox for long-term testing of tokenized assets, money, and settlement systems, with an emphasis on commercialization beyond short-term pilots. Coordination is underway among the RBA, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, and AUSTRAC to address regulatory uncertainty around classification, settlement, and licensing of tokenized markets. Lawmakers are also moving to regulate crypto platforms and custody services under financial-services law. Industry leaders highlight regulatory clarity and standardized infrastructure as crucial for moving tokenized assets to real markets. The RBA estimates that tokenization could deliver an economic benefit of about $24 billion annually to Australia, and ongoing work will focus on settlement infrastructure, tokenized deposits, stablecoins, and wholesale central bank digital currency.
