Reserve Bank of Australia signals a more prominent role for stablecoins in the economy

Stablecoins have the potential to occupy a more prominent role in the financial system. This is stated in a проекте закона by the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) bill on regulating crypto exchanges, custodial services and the issuance of “stablecoins”.

The bulk of the document is devoted to stablecoins. The central bank sees the potential of the asset class, recognising the need to develop a regulatory framework.

«The RBA supports the development of regulatory mechanisms for ‘stablecoins’ that support innovation, providing proper guarantees for investors and users, — the document says.

The central bank noted that stablecoins could «widely be used for payments».

The regulator has not decided on the issuance CBDC, but is engaged in active research in this area, the document says. The central bank noted that national digital currencies could enhance the efficiency of domestic payment systems and be used in cross-border payments.

«In the future, CBDCs could be issued to non-residents and potentially used outside the issuer’s jurisdiction», the document says.

The RBA also did not rule out Australians using foreign national digital currencies. This could require data collection from authorised institutions that take deposits, such as banks and credit unions.

The regulator has signalled that it will not approve fintech firms and foreign central banks in this capacity.

In March 2022, local ANZ Bank launched the stablecoin A$DC.

In January 2023, the media reported on National Australia Bank’s work to create a backed ‘stablecoin’ AUDN.