The Reserve Bank of Australia has expressed strong support for the development of real-world asset tokenization, highlighting new analysis that suggests the sector could contribute around 24 billion Australian dollars, approximately $16.7 billion, to the economy annually.

Assistant Governor Brad Jones stated on Wednesday that insights from Project Acacia indicate tokenized finance and the infrastructure surrounding it could be “revolutionary,” according to industry feedback referenced in the report.

He noted that the projected economic benefits could reach $16.7 billion per year, with the potential to grow even further if new markets emerge. “First, we no longer see the main question as whether tokenization has a future in Australia’s financial system, but rather, how.”

Global projections also support this outlook. Consulting firm McKinsey & Company has estimated that tokenized assets could reach nearly $2 trillion in value by 2030. In addition, Australia’s securities regulator, led by Joe Longo, has previously urged the country to take advantage of this opportunity or risk falling behind.

Project Acacia is a collaborative research initiative involving the Reserve Bank of Australia, the Digital Finance Cooperative Research Centre and industry stakeholders. It builds on earlier central bank digital currency experiments and examines whether tokenized assets can enhance the efficiency of Australia’s wholesale financial markets.

Sandbox initiative to support implementation

Jones also outlined plans for further development through a new experimental environment. The central bank intends to work with government bodies and industry participants to establish a “new digital financial market infrastructure (DFMI) sandbox.” This initiative is expected to allow both regulators and private sector participants to expand on the findings of Project Acacia and test practical applications in a controlled setting.

He explained that the sandbox could facilitate the gradual rollout of tokenized systems by offering a secure environment for testing and scaling innovations in tokenized money, assets and financial infrastructure over time. The framework may also be linked to a central bank digital currency.

“The interaction of wholesale CBDC with bank deposit tokens and stablecoins, and the synchronisation of tokenized asset ledgers with RITS [Reserve Bank Information and Transfer System], will be particular areas of interest.”

Rapid growth of tokenized assets market

Jones emphasized that ensuring Australia’s financial infrastructure remains suitable for a digital economy is a key strategic priority for the central bank. At the same time, the global tokenized asset market continues to expand. Data from RWA.xyz shows that the onchain value of real-world assets reached a record $27.5 billion last week, excluding stablecoins.

Over the past 12 months, the sector has grown by approximately 234%, demonstrating strong momentum even amid broader weakness in crypto asset markets.

Sources:

https://cointelegraph.com/news/australian-central-bank-backs-rwa-tokenisation-explores-digital-finance-sandbox

https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/week-in-charts/the-tides-of-tokenization

https://www.rba.gov.au/speeches/2026/sp-ag-2026-03-25.html

https://app.rwa.xyz/