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

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).

• 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.

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