Joint RBA and Treasury paper on CBDC and the future of digital money in Australia (RBA)

The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) and the Australian Treasury published a report summarizing their research to date on central bank digital currency (CBDC) and their current assessment of CBDC issues in Australia. It concludes that a clear public interest case to issue a retail CBDC has yet to emerge, as Australians are generally well served by the capabilities and resilience of the current retail payments system. However, the report highlights the role that wholesale CBDC, alongside other forms of digital money and infrastructure upgrades, could play in enhancing the functioning of wholesale markets. Hence, the report also sets out a three-year roadmap for future work on digital money in Australia, including Project Acacia, which will explore opportunities to uplift the efficiency, transparency and resilience of wholesale markets through tokenization and new settlement infrastructure. [Read more at the RBA]

OMFIF Digital Assets 2024 Report: The Long-Awaited Revolution (OMFIF)

The Official Monetary and Financial Institutions Forum (OMFIF) published its annual survey-based digital assets report. 26 survey respondents comprised of bond issuers, banks and investors, the majority of which were public sector bond issuers, indicated a slow but steady gathering of momentum behind the adoption of blockchain and distributed ledger technology (DLT). About 38% said they are looking at adopting them in debt issuance. CBDC was chosen by 59% of respondents as the preferred cash settlement for tokenized assets, with only 23% favoring “bank-issued stablecoins”. [Read more at OMFIF]

The OMFIF results regarding settlement assets differ greatly from those of a recent, more private-sector focused, Citibank survey, which found that 65% plan to use non-CBDC options, versus 15% who plan to use CBDCs. CBDCs were the preferred form of digital money at 52% in the previous year’s survey. However, the Citibank survey respondents were comprised of 494 industry participants, 43% of which were banks, 15% custodians, 14% asset managers, 11% broker-dealers, and 10% institutional investors. [Read more at Citibank]

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• Digital Euro Conference 2025, Frankfurt, March 27, 2025. The DEC25 conference will explore the future of money with a focus on CBDCs, stablecoins, tokenized deposits, and the intersection of AI and digital ID. Order your tickets before September 30 and get a 34% discount plus an additional 20% off by using the Kiffmeister20 code! [Find out more and register here]

And just a reminder that I produce a monthly digest of central bank digital currency (CBDC) developments exclusively for the official sector. So (only) if you work at a central bank, ministry of finance or international financial institution (e.g., the BIS, IMF, OECD, World Bank) and who would like to receive it by email on the first business day of every month, please DM me on LinkedIn or email me at john@kiffmeister.com.