The Reserve Bank of Australia joined the race to develop use cases for central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) in the country. It has stated that it will work with the country’s Digital Finance Cooperative Research Centre (DFCRC).
The project’s path will evaluate technological, legal, and regulatory aspects.
Reserve Bank of Australia to focus on business models for CBDC
The collaboration of the Reserve Bank and DFCRC would concentrate on specific use cases and business models that might be supported by the issuing of a CBDC, it was announced on Tuesday.
In the upcoming months, the bank plans to publish the paper along with more information on the project.
The CBDC operates in a ring-based environment for the experiment, which will lasts for a year. The bank and the DFCRC invited the industry stakeholders to assess the specific use cases. The chosen instances will come up with a report in the pilot release.
“This project is an important next step in our research on CBDC,” Michele Bullock, the deputy governor of the Reserve Bank, said. “We are looking forward to engaging with a wide range of industry participants to better understand the potential benefits a CBDC could bring to Australia.”
CBDC use gains traction
The DFCRC is a $180-million funded program by industry partners, universities, and the Australian government that intends to bring together stakeholders in the finance industry, academia, and regulatory sectors to generate opportunities coming from the next revolution in financial markets.
The Bank of Thailand announced a two-year pilot of retail CBDC testing on Friday, which will begin by the end of 2022.