Australia’s Treasury has placed artificial intelligence at the center of one of five major economic changes expected to influence the country over the next four decades, while crypto and digital assets are not specifically included in its long-term transition framework.
The Australian government released its 2026 Intergenerational Report on September 21, covering economic and budget projections through 2065–66.
Alongside the AI revolution, Treasury highlighted geopolitical fragmentation, the energy transition, population aging and the economy’s continued move toward services as major forces likely to shape Australia’s future.
According to the report, rapid advances in AI could have a significant impact on productivity and economic activity over the coming decades. It also points to the development of agentic AI, referring to systems that can increasingly complete tasks with limited human involvement.
Crypto, digital assets and blockchain-based financial infrastructure, however, are not separately identified among the five major transitions outlined in the report.
Treasury has separate digital finance plans
While crypto is absent from the main 40-year framework, Treasury has continued to work on financial innovation through a separate policy track.
Australia released its Financial Innovation Strategy on September 3. The strategy sets out plans to support financial innovation and improve coordination among the government, regulators, and financial industry.
It also highlights AI-enabled financial services and digital financial market infrastructure as potential areas for regulatory sandbox initiatives.
Some financial infrastructure issues linked to new technologies are being addressed through Treasury’s financial innovation work instead of as a separate long-term economic transition.
Tokenized finance gains attention
Digital financial infrastructure is also being explored through Project Acacia, a collaboration between the Reserve Bank of Australia and the Digital Finance Cooperative Research Centre (DFCRC).
The project examined 20 wholesale market use cases involving tokenized assets and different forms of digital money. These included a pilot wholesale central bank digital currency, tokenized commercial bank deposits, and stablecoins.
The Reserve Bank of Australia said the findings showed potential for tokenized assets, digital money, and improved settlement infrastructure to increase the efficiency and functionality of wholesale financial markets.
Separately, a March DFCRC report estimated that digital finance innovation could deliver as much as A$24 billion ($17.1 billion) in annual economic benefits to Australia, equal to roughly 1% of GDP. The figure is an estimate of potential gains rather than a measure of existing economic output.
Australia is therefore addressing digital assets, tokenization, stablecoins, and programmable payments through separate financial innovation and regulatory initiatives, while the Intergenerational Report maintains its focus on five broader economic transitions through 2065–66.
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