According to the executive overseeing Australia’s CBDC pilot, Dilip Rao, who previously worked at Ripple, has been exploring 14 potential applications for central bank digital currencies. While CBDCs may not address current challenges, they have the potential to provide solutions for unforeseen problems, as stated by the executive leading Australia’s CBDC initiative.
Dilip Rao, previously associated with Ripple and currently leading Australia’s CBDC research initiative, expressed to Cointelegraph that a central bank-backed digital currency could be designed for future applications that have not yet been contemplated. He stated, “While it may not address current challenges, it could potentially solve future problems.”
Rao currently holds the position of research program director at the Digital Finance Cooperative Research Centre, which is collaborating with the Reserve Bank to explore various use cases for a potential CBDC. However, Rao acknowledged that the question of why individuals would desire or require its use remains unanswered. Rao elaborated that a potential future utilization could involve prominent institutions engaging in the trade of tokenized assets on platforms that might opt for a CBDC as a means to mitigate risks.
The CBDC pilot in Australia is currently investigating 14 potential use cases, and Rao mentioned that the forthcoming report on these tests will identify specific areas that warrant deeper investigation. He emphasized that not every use case requires a CBDC, stating that widespread adoption would depend on people perceiving its value.
In Australia, a significant obstacle to implementing a CBDC would be the necessary legislative amendments that require public support. Rao stated that for these changes to pass in Parliament, politicians would need to show their support, which necessitates extensive public consultation. This consultation process would primarily focus on addressing the issues that people genuinely want resolved. Rao further emphasized that politicians are unlikely to take actions that would result in losing votes.
