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Territory in northeastern Australia launches own CBDC

The Sovereign Yidindji Government (SYG) in northeastern Australia has released a central bank digital currency (CBDC) and a digital ID system on blockchain wallet network MetaMUI. Fast facts The Aboriginal people of Yidindji have lived in the territory for over 60,000 years and in 2014 established the SYG. The SYG and the Australian government, including […]

By Lachlan Keller

From the Forkast crypto archive

The Sovereign Yidindji Government (SYG) in northeastern Australia has released a central bank digital currency (CBDC) and a digital ID system on blockchain wallet network MetaMUI.

Fast facts

  • The Aboriginal people of Yidindji have lived in the territory for over 60,000 years and in 2014 established the SYG.
  • The SYG and the Australian government, including the prime minister, are currently undergoing discussions for a formal treaty between the two governments, SYG foreign affairs and trade minister Murrumu Walubara told Forkast.
  • The Sovereign Yidindji Dollar issued by the territory’s central bank had only been issued through the territory’s postage stamps to this point.
  • The roughly 100 SYG citizens can use their new CBDC and digital ID for transactions at local businesses in the territory, as well as official government services.
  • “We can’t use the Australian [dollar] because we’re not Australians,” Walubara said, who also serves as the SYG financial technology minister.
  • The SYG joins a growing list of countries and jurisdictions that have issued CBDCs, including the Bahamas and Nigeria, while China’s digital yuan is set to be showcased in the upcoming Winter Olympics.