Tokenization Could Save Australian Economy $16.7 Billion Annually, Aussie Central Bank Reports

The Reserve Bank of Australia announced on March 25 that Australia is moving beyond trials to real-world rollout of tokenized assets and wholesale digital currencies.

Jones made the remarks while unveiling the findings of Project Acacia, a research initiative that maps out a future where Australia’s financial plumbing is faster, cheaper, and entirely digital. A collaborative project with the Digital Finance Cooperative Research Centre (DFCRC) and private industry, Project Acacia examined whether tokenized forms of money and assets could enhance the functioning of Australia’s wholesale asset markets.

According to RBA and DFCRC analysis, transitioning to tokenized money and assets could save the Australian economy roughly $16.7 billion (AU$24 billion) annually. These gains represent the removal of “friction” in the current system—specifically manual processing, multi-day delays, and high capital costs associated with moving money between banks. By using blockchain-based ledgers, these transactions could become near-instant.

“We are moving from the era of ‘what if’ to the era of ‘how to,'” Jones said, emphasizing that the economic benefits of modernization are now too large to ignore.

To turn these findings into reality, the RBA announced the launch of a Digital Financial Market Infrastructure (DFMI) sandbox. Unlike previous short-term experiments, this sandbox is designed as a long-term, “stage-gated” environment. It allows commercial banks and fintechs to test tokenized products—such as government bonds and investment funds—under regulatory supervision, with a clear pathway to “graduate” these products into the live economy.

He also called on the industry to ensure new digital systems are as unshakeable as the legacy infrastructure they replace, while ensuring new-age digital ledgers can still “talk” to existing bank accounts.

The RBA’s message is clear: The infrastructure of the Australian financial system is due for an upgrade. While the transition will be measured and cautious, the goal is a seamless, automated, and significantly lower-cost economy.