RBA tokenisation consultation reaches deadline as Australia weighs central bank backing for stablecoins

Submissions close as policy questions move from theory to decision

The Reserve Bank of Australia consultation paper titled The Role of RITS in Supporting Settlement in a Tokenised Ecosystem reaches its deadline on 30 October 2026. The paper, which opened in early September, asks market participants, infrastructure providers and technology firms to explain how Australia’s high value settlement system could be adapted to support tokenised assets and private forms of tokenised money, including arrangements where stablecoins use central bank reserves as backing.

What the RBA is asking

The consultation sets out three broad settlement models for synchronising tokenised asset ledgers with the existing Reserve Bank Information and Transfer System, known as RITS. These models explore whether the cash leg should settle before the asset leg, the reverse, or whether simultaneous settlement mechanisms can be built. The paper also seeks views on whether stablecoin issuers should be given some form of access to Exchange Settlement Accounts or other central bank reserve facilities for settlement purposes, and on design options for a tokenised representation of central bank reserves for wholesale markets.

Why this matters for the local crypto industry

If the RBA moves to allow stablecoin issuers technical access to central bank money for settlement, it would materially change the plumbing that underpins tokenised wholesale markets. Access to central bank reserves can reduce settlement risk and increase finality for high value transactions, but it also raises legal, operational and prudential questions, because Exchange Settlement Accounts are currently limited to authorised deposit taking institutions and certain financial market utilities.

Market participants and infrastructure providers that have participated in Project Acacia, the national tokenisation research initiative, will be watching closely for indications of what rules or operational changes the RBA might require. For stablecoin issuers, the prospect of reserve access could lower counterparty and credit frictions in tokenised settlement chains, but it would likely come with strict eligibility criteria and supervisory expectations.

Regulatory and industry tradeoffs

Allowing stablecoin issuers into central bank settlement arrangements would force a choice between two objectives. On the one hand, integrating tokenised money with RITS could unlock efficiency gains for wholesale markets and reduce delivery versus payment frictions when tokenised assets move between counterparties. On the other hand, extending central bank facilities to nonbank entities would require new safeguards to protect public money and preserve financial stability. The RBA paper asks respondents to identify practical safeguards and to weigh distributional questions, for example whether access should be limited to wholesale, institutionally focused tokens or extended more broadly.

Wider context: retail CBDC and Project Acacia

The RITS consultation sits alongside the RBA and Treasury’s recent assessment on retail central bank digital currency. That assessment reiterated there is no clear public interest case for issuing a retail CBDC in Australia at this time. By contrast, work on wholesale tokenisation through Project Acacia has already shown operational use cases for tokenised settlement of assets. The current consultation is intended to translate those experimental findings into potential operational and policy changes for Australia’s settlement architecture.

What to expect next

With the consultation deadline reached on 30 October 2026, the RBA will now need time to analyse submissions and to decide which of the design options merit further testing or policy change. Industry stakeholders expect that the analysis will be followed by more targeted pilots, clearer rules for any stablecoin-reserve link, and consultation on legal changes if central bank reserves are to be used for tokenised settlement. Any move toward giving nonbank token issuers access to central bank facilities would also trigger a coordinated response from Treasury and other regulators to address prudential, legal and anti money laundering obligations.

Why readers should care

The outcome of this process will help determine whether tokenised finance in Australia will rely on arrangements that replicate current central bank-backed settlement, or instead evolve with private settlement layers that remain separate from central bank reserves. That choice affects financial market efficiency, the competitive landscape for digital asset businesses, and how fast tokenised products can scale without increasing systemic risk. For businesses, investors and technologists in Australia’s digital asset ecosystem, the RBA’s next steps will be decisive for how tokenisation projects are designed and financed in the years ahead.