Australia is accelerating its entry into digital currencies by announcing on Monday that it will be on schedule to unveil the first central bank digital currency (CBDC), known as ‘eAUD’, by mid-2023. In July, the country, working in close partnership with the Digital Finance Cooperative Research Center, piloted the first trial of a CBDC using a private version of Ethereum. Australia’s central bank has now released a white paper stating that the country’s CBDC pilot should be completed by mid-2023.
The aim is to “explore new use cases and business models” for CBDCs. It is said in the country’s white paper Highlighting that technology research is not the goal.
The eAUD platform uses a permissioned version of Ethereum called Quorum Digital Finance CRC and operated by the central bank. However, use cases interfacing with the eAUD platform may leverage blockchain networks, public or private, or traditional technologies.
Industry participants have been asked to submit any use case ideas for eAUD and “a limited number of these use cases will be selected for operation within the CBDC pilot project infrastructure.”
Invitations will be required to participate in the trial and only Australian-registered organizations and Australian residents who pass KYC measures will be allowed to participate in the trial and hold an eAUD.
“The project seeks to facilitate ideas and innovations in use cases and instead use those results to better understand the case for introducing a CBDC in Australia,” the white paper said, adding that it was expecting industry participants such as financial institutions, fintech companies. and established businesses to contribute to research.
The white paper also highlights the fact that use cases must be legally compliant and participants are expected to consult the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) in that regard. It was mentioned that the pilot could get some legal exemptions.
The selected use cases will be announced on December 31, ahead of the CBDC pilot, which will take place from January to April 2023.
The white paper also made it clear that the pilot does not mean the RBA will necessarily issue CBDC.
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