The official whitepaper for Australia’s central bank digital currency (CBDC) was published by the Reserve Bank of Australia on September 26th, with a pilot scheduled by the middle of 2023. In a press statement issued with the whitepaper, the central bank stated that it would investigate use cases and saw the research as a chance to grasp certain technological, legal, and regulatory aspects of a CBDC.
The Reserve Bank of Australia will collaborate with the Digital Finance Cooperative Research Centre (DFCRC). This initiative is supported by business partners, institutions, and the Australian government.
Notably, the whitepaper does not expressly promise the delivery of a CBDC. Instead, the entire endeavour remains an experiment. The central bank anticipates input and feedback from industry experts to assist with the endeavour.
The CBDC experiment will span one year, and the RBA and DFCRC will choose which use cases will be included in the pilot. The release of the whitepaper coincides with the country’s intensifying regulation of the cryptocurrency business.
Efforts to regulate cryptocurrencies are gaining steam.
Crypto regulation has become an essential part of the plan for many governments, and Australia is no different. The Australian Securities and Investments Commission recently boosted its attempts to regulate the asset category. One million Australians will enter crypto during the next 12 months.
Given this level of acceptance, efforts to control cryptocurrencies are not surprising. Senator Andrew Bragg has submitted a crypto law, just as crypto-related fraud in Australia reached approximately $250 million in 2022. Australian law enforcement’s forensic teams are trying to reduce crime rates.
Australia joins the growing list of nations working on CBDCs.
The list of nations proposing a CBDC is extensive and expanding. It is evident to governments that they should maximise their use of technology since they do not wish to fall too far behind China. The senator’s measure references China’s CBDC and discusses disclosure rules for international CBDCs.
Saudi Arabia, Thailand, France, Taiwan, and Israel are among the nations that have lately made news for CBDC-related activities. These are only a few of the several countries collaborating with CBDCs, and more will undoubtedly be announced.
