[RBA: Australian CBDC may be useful for payments and tokenization]
The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has completed a central bank digital currency (CBDC) pilot to explore the possible applications of e-AUD. In its 44-page report on August 23, the RBA and the Digital Finance Collaborative Research Center (DFCRC) found that CBDC shows significant potential in four key industries, such as complex payments and asset tokenization.
The pilot shows that CBDC can optimize four major areas, including "smarter" payments: where tokenized CBDC makes complex payment arrangements possible, beyond the capabilities of current payment systems.
The report also pointed out that CBDC contributes to financial innovation, such as the debt securities market, and can stimulate innovation in the private digital currency industry and enhance the resilience and inclusiveness of the digital economy. The 16 participating units particularly emphasized the advantages of CBDC in "atomic settlement", which means that transaction settlement can be completed instantly.
A major feature of CBDC is programmability, which helps improve business process efficiency and reduce risks. However, this pilot project was conducted as a genuine legal claim by the RBA, leaving participants uncertain about its legal and regulatory status.
The report mentions: "Participants who hold or operate pilot CBDCs are confused about whether custody services are provided or how to handle the regulation of financial products." It is recommended that "these issues should be pre-considered in legal and regulatory reforms when launching CBDCs." and solve it."
While CBDC seems to have many uses, the report also believes that the benefits it brings can also be achieved through other means, such as privately issued tokenized bank deposits or stablecoins.
“It is not clear that CBDC is the only necessary condition to achieve the required economic benefits.”
In summary, CBDC may improve the efficiency and resilience of Australia's payment ecosystem, but its actual benefits still require further research to confirm.
