The motions have been set in place for an Australian central bank digital currency (CBDC) after the Digital Finance Cooperative Research Centre (DFCRC) and Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) confirmed that test pilots of the digital currency are underway.
Selected organisations, such as Australian fintech CANVAS, have been exploring potential use cases and economic benefits of CBDCs, with CANVAS recently working on foreign exchange by listing the Australian dollar CBDC for USDC – a US dollar stablecoin – on their blockchain exchange.
The firm also became the first to facilitate a pilot for foreign exchange transactions with the Australian CBDC, conducted by the RBA and the DFCRC.
“We believe our solution has the potential to dramatically increase speed and reduce the risks and costs compared to traditional Foreign Exchange Trading & International Remittance networks, and will radically transform finance and markets over the next decade,” said David Lavecky, CANVAS Co-Founder & CEO.
“The opportunity for CBDCs in Foreign exchange trading and international remittances is significant and we’ve successfully shown through real transactions the possibilities and efficiencies of the CANVAS Connect network.”
The CANVAS blockchain exchange – CANVAS Connect – provides privacy, confidentiality, low cost, and instant transactions, on the public Ethereum blockchain, which are the essential ingredients for digital finance.
Lavecky added: “Today CBDC pilot live demonstration is a critical development for digital finance in Australia, and we’re honoured to be a part of it alongside other major industry financial institutions and showcase its capabilities.”
