A month after China’s central bank distributed its first $1 million in digital currency, the Reserve Bank, Commonwealth Bank and National Australia Bank announced they were starting a research paper.
The research would explore the potential use and implications of a central bank digital currency, the RBA and two of Australia’s largest lenders said. The financial pillars noted its use “remains an open question”.
In Shenzhen and soon, Suzhou, in eastern China, millions of Chinese consumers will become the first to spend their digital currency after six years of development by Chinese authorities. The chasm between China and Australia’s experiences of the digital economy could have profound consequences, not just for the speed at which Chinese consumers can mop-up discounts – but for control, surveillance, diplomacy and international sanctions.
