Commonwealth Bank of Australia Interested in Crypto, but “Long Way to Go” in Australia

Aussie banks are often accused of being restrictive when it comes to the crypto markets – and from the customer’s side, they are right. Several “Big Four” institutions have put limits on how investors can transfer money to crypto exchanges, with some reports of de-banking threats for bigger spenders.

However, certain Australian banks have also demonstrated their interest in Web3 as a payment solution – starting with ANZ’s AUD stablecoin it built in conjunction with Chainlink.

Now, the country’s biggest bank – the Commonwealth Bank of Australia – has announced its intention to experiment with digital assets and tokenisation going forward. But there may still be a long way to go before this trend becomes commonplace.

Related: RBA Shifts Focus, Drops Retail CBDC, Prioritises Wholesale in New Roadmap

Commonwealth Bank of Australia Assessing Stablecoin and Tokenisation Projects

Speaking at the Australian Financial Review’s (AFR) crypto Summit this week, CBA’s Managing Director of Blockchain and Digital Assets, Sophie Gilder, revealed several crypto-based projects have been in the works as far back as 2016.

The most relevant experiment is using stablecoins pegged to the Australian dollar as a cheap and fast means to settle payments.

The CBA has also looked at using a native blockchain to process tokenised deposits, which may be more efficient for larger transactions.

Regulators Not to Blame for Lack of Innovation

Much is made of financial regulators as “the bad guys” of the crypto industry – but CBA’s Sophie Gilder deflected the blame away from bodies like ASIC.

While she admitted that the lack of regulatory clarity is a major “bottleneck” preventing significant Web3 innovation within Australia, she argued that regulators lack the proper resources to make the right adjustments.

There are regulators who are often…well resourced to monitor and assess existing products, but I think less well resourced to look at innovative products.

Sophie Gilder, CBA’s Managing Director of Blockchain and Digital Assets

Related: Harris Now Reportedly Supports AI, Crypto, Community Has Mixed Feelings

Ms Gilder turned her attention to policymakers and Governments as being the catalysts for changing crypto regulation in the country.

I am very conscious that regulators can only look at the laws, the legislation that exists in the case law, they can’t actually invent or overreach. I think what we need in Australia is we need political will to implement legislation.

Sophie Gilder, CBA’s Managing Director of Blockchain and Digital Assets

Australian elections don’t quite get the airtime of their US counterparts, but with campaigns to begin in 2025, it will be interesting to see if national politicians address the crypto industry or push it aside.