While the Australian Senate is currently discussing how the government would regulate cryptocurrencies, the country’s central bank, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA), has posted a job opening for a CBDC expert.
The hired applicant would join a new-cross disciplinary team that would research the viability and possible impacts of Central Bank Digital Currency for Australia’s economy and its citizens.
This is a clear sign that the country’s central bank is starting to recognize the potentials of CBDC for Australia’s economy.
Various countries around the world are either planning, pilot testing, or have already implemented CBDCs for their economy, and this trend is a positive sign for the country’s central bank to explore the digital currency’s possibilities.
Dipping its toes
At the Senate Select Committee on Australia, RBA said that while it is already conducting research about CBDC’s viability, it said that a strong need to actually issue it has not yet emerged from this research.
Also, the central bank said that while the country’s stablecoin has not yet been issued, it is already exploring the best ways to regulate it if ever stablecoins would be issued in Australia.
CBDC collaborations
This month, the Bank of Settlements (BIS) has announced a collaboration with central banks, including the Reserve Bank of Australia, to discuss the possibility of using CBDC for international settlements.
The international project, called “Project Dunbar” aims to develop and test advanced platforms for cross-border payments using CBDCs of various countries. With this, traditional intermediaries would be completely eliminated, making fund transfers cheaper and faster.
Apart from the RBA, the central banks of Singapore, South Africa, and Malaysia would also be part of the project.
CBDC is clearly gaining traction in various countries because of its proven convenience compared to traditional payment methods, and it’s only a matter of time before it becomes a norm all over the world.
