Canvas makes Australian financial history with first live repo using tokenised Australian Government Bond and wholesale CBDC
Canvas has made Australian financial history by completing Australia’s first live repo transactions using a tokenised Australian Government Bond (AGB) and live wholesale CBDC issued by the Reserve Bank of Australia.
The transactions were completed as part of Project Acacia, a research project led by the Reserve Bank of Australia and the Digital Finance Cooperative Research Centre (DFCRC) exploring how different forms of digital money and associated infrastructure could support the development of wholesale tokenised asset markets in Australia.
In the use case led by Canvas, an Australian Government Bond was tokenised by Canvas Capital, recorded through the Canvas Digital Securities Registry (CDSR) and held with Zodia Custody.
The tokenised bond was used as collateral in a series of live repo transactions between global financial services Institution Sanlam Group, and an Australian hedge fund, with Sanlam using its bond holdings to obtain short-term funding and the hedge fund participating as the cash provider under a reverse repo arrangement.
The transaction settled on Canvas Connect, Canvas’s privacy-focused blockchain designed for institutional financial transactions, using wholesale CBDC issued by the RBA for the purposes of Project Acacia. Banking Circle, an Authorised Deposit‑taking Institution (ADI) provided the Exchange Settlement Account-linked settlement access.
Canvas orchestrated the transactions architecture across:
1. Canvas’s integrated Digital Financial Market Infrastructure —
a. Canvas Markets, which operated the digital securities and collateral registry; and
b. Canvas Capital, which tokenised the Australian Government Bond — together with
c. Canvas Connect, its privacy-focused blockchain designed for institutional financial transactions;
2. Zodia Custody, which provided digital custody for the tokenised Australian Government Bond, and
3. Banking Circle, which provided Exchange Settlement Account-linked settlement access
Australia’s repo market sits at the centre of wholesale funding and collateral management, enabling financial institutions to raise short-term funding. By allowing high-quality securities such as Australian Government Bonds to be exchanged for cash, repos help institutions manage short term funding needs, deploy collateral efficiently and support liquidity across government bond markets.
Unlike simulated proof-of-concept transactions, Canvas completed a series of live repo transactions using real participants, live market infrastructure and tokenised Australian Government Bond with live wholesale CBDC issued as a direct legal claim on the Reserve Bank of Australia.
Canvas Digital CEO David Lavecky said, “Canvas is extremely proud to have completed Australia’s first series of live repo transactions using a tokenised Australian Government Bond and wholesale CBDC issued by the RBA for the purposes of Project Acacia.”
“Australia’s repo market sits at the centre of wholesale funding and market liquidity. These transactions showed that tokenised collateral, digital custody, banking infrastructure and digital central bank money can operate together in a live institutional market environment.
“These transactions demonstrate how tokenised government bonds and wholesale digital central bank money can turn Australia’s wholesale financial markets into faster, lower-friction venues — echoing the DFCRC’s report that ‘better markets’ could unlock $10 billion in annual economic gains for Australia.
“To use a tokenised government bond as collateral in a live repo transaction, and have that transaction settle within seconds using wholesale digital central bank money on Canvas Connect, is a major step forward for Australian financial markets. Canvas is proud to have participated in Project Acacia, alongside our partners Zodia Custody and Banking Circle, as we work together to advance the future of wholesale Tokenised Asset Market in Australia,” Lavecky added.
Importantly, Canvas demonstrated the benefits of its Digital Securities Registry (CDSR), its books-and-records digital securities and collateral registry. CDSR recorded the digital securities and collateral state associated with the repo transaction, while the underlying Australian Government Bond position remained linked to Australia’s existing securities market infrastructure, including Austraclear, Australia’s central securities depository for wholesale debt securities.
This demonstrated how high-quality collateral can be mobilised digitally for repo and secured funding transactions without requiring market participants to abandon existing custody and settlement infrastructure.
Zodia Custody Australia’s Managing Director, Ryan Hodges, said institutional adoption of tokenised assets depends on secure, trusted custody infrastructure.
“This transaction demonstrated how tokenised Australian Government Bonds can be held and used within a custody framework designed for institutions, while supporting new forms of settlement and collateral mobility. Tokenised government bonds are a natural starting point for institutional digital asset markets. They are high-quality assets, widely understood by market participants and central to the functioning of wholesale financial markets,” Hodges said.
Banking Circle (Australia) Chief Commercial Officer Piers Cracknell said the transaction demonstrated how conventional banking infrastructure can connect with blockchain-based financial market infrastructure.
“Banking Circle brings always-on interoperability between traditional and digital finance,” Cracknell said.
“This transaction demonstrated how conventional banking infrastructure and central bank settlement access can connect with blockchain-based financial market infrastructure in a secure and compliant way.”
Tokenised repos have the potential to modernise secured funding markets by enabling high-quality collateral to be mobilised more quickly and used more efficiently. By combining digital collateral records with wholesale CBDC settlement, tokenised repos can reduce settlement risk, improve intraday liquidity and support faster, more transparent repo lifecycle management.
According to the Digital Finance Cooperative Research Centre (DFCRC) March 2026 report, digital finance could unlock $24 billion in annual economic benefits for Australia, including $10 billion from “better markets”. This opportunity is driven by modernising trading, settlement and capital allocation through tokenisation, distributed ledger technology and more efficient digital market infrastructure.
The first live repo transaction using tokenised Australian Government Bond and wholesale CBDC marked a major step forward for Australian financial market infrastructure and demonstrated how tokenised assets and central bank money can support faster, safer and more efficient wholesale markets.
RBA Assistant Governor Brad Jones said in his March 2026 speech, After Acacia: The Next Era of Financial System Innovation, that Project Acacia suggested the potential for tokenisation, when coupled with infrastructure design and payment system upgrades, to reduce risk while unlocking greater efficiency and functionality in wholesale markets.
Jones also noted that Project Acacia included tokenised government bond repos and that a novel element of the project was the issuance of wholesale CBDC onto external ledgers to better understand associated efficiency and safety issues.
