Blockchain and Digital Law Updates: Project Acacia and Tornado Cash Trial

The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) and the Digital Finance Cooperative Research Centre (DFCRC) have announced the selection of 24 use cases for the next stage of Project Acacia, a collaborative research initiative aiming to test the settlement of tokenised assets using digital money. The project involves industry participants, including Westpac, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, and ANZ, to test wholesale central bank digital currency (CBDC) and stablecoins in real-world use cases. Meanwhile, the criminal trial of Roman Storm, one of the developers of the crypto asset privacy protocol Tornado Cash, is set to commence in the New York Court, with the US Department of Justice (DOJ) charging him with money laundering and operating an unlicensed money transmission business.

Key Takeaways:

• Project Acacia is a collaborative research initiative led by the RBA and DFCRC, aiming to test the settlement of tokenised assets using digital money.
• The project has selected 24 use cases, including tokenised trade payables, tokenised bonds, and private markets, for further testing.
• Participants include major Australian banks, fintech companies, and blockchain platforms, such as Hedera, R3 Corda, and EVM-compatible chains.
• The use cases will involve transactions using real money and assets, as well as simulated transactions.
• The project is expected to continue over the next six months, with a report due in the first quarter of 2026.
• The RBA and DFCRC have provided targeted relief to allow participants to test their tokenised settlement models without triggering licensing obligations under financial services laws.
• The trial of Roman Storm, one of the developers of Tornado Cash, is set to commence in the New York Court, with the DOJ charging him with money laundering and operating an unlicensed money transmission business.