CommBank, J.P. Morgan, ASX and HQLA^X selected to help research key RBA digital currency project

Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) has welcomed the opportunity to join the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) and Digital Finance Collaborative Research Centre (DFCRC) project to help research domestic wholesale tokenised asset markets with the aim of making significant improvements to the $350 billion repurchasing agreement “repo” market.

The RBA has chosen CBA, J.P. Morgan, the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) and HQLA^X including its Trusted Third Party Deutsche Börse Group as part of Project Acacia to evaluate how digital currencies and digital collateral records could deliver greater efficiency and liquidity with lower risk in the strategically important repo market. The project will leverage Kinexys Digital Assets, J.P. Morgan’s multi-asset tokenisation platform, CBA’s Digital Assets Platform, HQLA^X collateral mobility solution and the local expertise of ASX.

The 'repo' market is a critical and growing component of the Australian financial system.

Repos play a vital role in the economy by:

• Providing essential short-term funding for banks and financial institutions
• Enabling the Reserve Bank of Australia to implement monetary policy
• Facilitating liquidity management across the financial system
• Supporting the efficient functioning of government bond markets

"We’re very pleased to bring together globally recognised digital asset leaders and critical financial markets infrastructure providers to explore how digital currencies and tokenisation can ensure the global competitiveness of Australia’s financial markets,” said Sophie Gilder, CBA’s Managing Director of blockchain and digital assets.

“The repo market, with its critical role in liquidity management and monetary policy implementation, represents an ideal starting point for this exploration.”

“We are pleased to join with CBA, ASX and HQLA^X to explore how Kinexys, J.P. Morgan's industry-leading blockchain business unit, can contribute to the efficiency of Australia’s financial markets,” said Bianca Bates, head of J.P. Morgan Payments in Australia and New Zealand.

“As one of the first bank-led blockchain platforms, we have delivered many industry firsts, from programmable payments for corporate clients to instant settlement between U.S. dollars, euros and British sterling. Since inception, Kinexys has processed over U.S.$2 trillion in transaction volume.”

For more information about Project Acacia, please visit the RBA's website at: rba.gov.au/media-releases/2024/mr-24-25.html

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