Chain Reaction - 14th July 2025
Project Acacia announced, Innovation in Blockchain Continues
From the Editor
What a week! If you’ve ever wondered what happens when the RBA, blockchain nerds, and the nation’s finest DeFi minds all walk into a bar, well, the answer is Project Acacia. From pilots flying high on the Redbelly Network to crypto ad wars and a crime story or two, this week’s newsletter is stuffed fuller than a ledger at tax time. Grab a cuppa and let’s get into it!
Project Acacia: The RBA x DFCRC Pilot Starts!
Australia officially took the training wheels off its blockchain ambitions this week with the Reserve Bank of Australia x Digital Finance CRC Project Acacia reveal. Not only are we finally seeing pilots on a public blockchain (cheers, Redbelly Network!), but the country’s biggest players are on board. The media went wild, and so did we. Here’s your ultimate Acacia linkfest:
- Official RBA announcement: https://www.rba.gov.au/media-releases/2025/mr-25-18.html
- NotCentralised as lead industry participant: https://notcentralised.com/media-release-notcentralised-selected-as-lead-industry-participant-in-project-acacia/?preview_id=6369&preview_nonce=d34cdc1e42
- Redbelly’s victorious LinkedIn video: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/redbelly-network_digitalfinance-tokenisation-projectacacia-activity-7348863552021028865-FHuw?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop&rcm=ACoAAAV7RT0Bf0fJj7zr6JDyM7Fh2-KhNgJf4dk
- Treasury’s take: https://treasury.gov.au/media-release/project-acacia
- CBA joins the party: https://www.commbank.com.au/articles/newsroom/2025/07/cba-joins-RBA-on-digital-currency-project.html
- AFR on CBA & JPMorgan joining forces: https://www.afr.com/technology/cba-teams-up-with-jpmorgan-for-blockchain-led-funding-market-trials-20250709-p5mdr3
- Bloomberg covers the picks: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-07-10/rba-selects-firms-for-tokenized-settlement-research-project
- Fireblocks in the Yahoo Finance spotlight: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/fireblocks-joins-project-acacia-explore-000000851.html
- Catena Digital on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/drew-g-bradford_project-acacia-rba-and-dfcrc-announce-chosen-activity-7348900178688425984-Rp9L?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop&rcm=ACoAAAV7RT0Bf0fJj7zr6JDyM7Fh2-KhNgJf4dk
- Coin Telegraph on Australia’s digital currency trial: https://cointelegraph.com/news/australia-digital-currency-trial-tokenized-asset-markets
- FST Media on a “flurry of use cases”: https://fst.net.au/financial-services-news/rbas-digital-asset-innovation-project-set-for-flurry-of-use-cases/
- National Tribune’s coverage: https://www.nationaltribune.com.au/project-acacia-rba-and-dfcrc-announce-chosen-industry-participants-and-asic-provides-regulatory-relief-for-tokenised-asset-settlement-research-project/
- Our own take (shameless plug): https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7348870867801554945/
- Global Government Fintech: https://www.globalgovernmentfintech.com/australia-project-acacia-pilot-use-cases/
- The Block: https://www.theblock.co/post/361944/australia-central-bank-project-acacia-cbdc
- Cryptonews: https://cryptonews.com/news/australias-central-bank-progresses-project-acacia-testing-for-cbdc-asset-settlement/
- Project background from DFCRC: https://dfcrc.com.au/projects-cbdc-acacia/
We’ll round out with this video from Redbelly as part of their Insights podcast
Also Hedera highlighting it during as part of the HBAR Bull podcast
Congrats to all the pilot participants! More deep dives on Acacia coming soon—watch this space.
AUSTRALIAN CRYPTO IN THE WILD
- Coinstash moves further into the SMSF jungle—growing faster than an altcoin in a bull run:
- Zerocap and Pier Two join forces! Blockchain teamwork making the dream work.
- Steve Vallas goes to Washington, just in time for stablecoin drama:
PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENTS
- Crypto scam awareness 101 with Joni Pirovich & Mark Bailey (must-watch for your normie mates):
- TRM Labs helps bust a $30m crypto laundering op with Victorian Police. Who says blockchain doesn’t fight crime?
- “Taking the law into your own hands”—crypto style. Spoiler: not legal advice!
GLOBAL VIBES & INDUSTRY MOVES
- Crypto.com and Emirates ink an MOU to bring crypto payments to the skies—next stop, moon?
- Swyftx’s new ad asks, “Where can crypto take you?” (Answer: hopefully not just to the tax office)
Ben Ritchie from Alpha Node Global on the value of Bitcoin—worth its weight in…well, Bitcoin:
That’s all for this week, Chain Reactors! Stay safe, stay decentralised, and remember: not your keys, not your cheese.
— The Editor
About Aus DeFi Association
The Australian DeFi Association (Aus DeFi) is a non-profit community organisation dedicated to increasing education and awareness of blockchain technology, specifically decentralised finance (DeFi) and web3-based projects. Their goal is to empower the Australian community with the knowledge and tools to participate in the decentralised economy, and to promote the adoption and growth of blockchain technology in Australia. They strive to provide a more grassroots approach to promoting blockchain technology compared to other industry-focused organisations in Australia, and to provide a platform for community members to learn about and engage with this emerging technology.
Sponsors
This newsletter is brought to you by our sponsors at NotCentralised who use their AI tool, SIKE, to bring together the highlights each week. For more on SIKE and the world of business-friendly AI, see