The next major transformation of world financial markets will be shaped right here at Macquarie, with Minister for Science, Industry and Technology today announcing our University as a core research partner for a new Digital Finance Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) – one of only three new CRCs to be funded across Australia.
The Digital Finance CRC will bring together a unique group of stakeholders in fintech, industry, research, and regulation to develop and commercially utilise the opportunities arising from the next transformation of the financial markets. Partners include the RBA, NAB and CSIRO, as well as private sector entities and partner universities.
The successful bid will see a cash investment of $122 million over a ten-year period (including $60 million from the Federal Government), and a substantial amount of in-kind investment from consortium partners.
Professor Michael Aitken – from Macquarie’s highly acclaimed Department of Applied Finance – led Macquarie’s input on the successful CRC bid, with support from DVCR and Macquarie Business School Executive Dean Professor Eric Knight. Professor Aitken will lead a research program focused on guiding the world through the next transformation of its global markets, with funding expected to commence in mid-2022.
“The world is on the starting blocks of another fundamental transformation of the finance industry,” Professor Aitken says. “Australia was at the forefront of the first wave of new technologies and services that came with the digital finance transformation in the 1980s, and now we are set to be at the vanguard of this next new wave.”
The Digital Finance CRC is the second Cooperative Research Centre to be led by Macquarie, following the University’s successful bid for the SmartCrete CRC last year.
Vice-Chancellor and President Professor S. Bruce Dowton says Macquarie’s success in the CRC program is reflective of the University’s strong and productive links with industry, government and community partners.
“The success of this Digital Finance CRC bid is testament to the world-class research capability held by the bid partners,” he says. “Macquarie University is excited to facilitate this new multi-disciplinary consortium representing some of Australia’s biggest industry sectors and leading domestic and international innovators in business and research.”
What is Digital Finance?
Digital Finance is an economic system where individual assets are digitised. This includes ‘traditional’ assets as well as entirely new asset classes like NFTs (non-fungible tokens).
An asset-digitised financial world allows global marketplaces to operate 24/7 and exchange digitised assets instantaneously, and create new forms of economic activity and interactions.
These new forms of finance markets will create global competition for reliable and trusted investment environments. The Digital Finance CRC will act as an independent entity to lead the research and compliance in these environments.
Learn more about the Digital Finance CRC at dfcrc.com.au.
Back to homepage
Comments
We encourage active and constructive debate through our comments section, but please remain respectful. Your first and last name will be published alongside your comment.
Comments will not be pre-moderated but any comments deemed to be offensive, obscene, intimidating, discriminatory or defamatory will be removed and further action may be taken where such conduct breaches University policy or standards. Please keep in mind that This Week is a public site and comments should not contain information that is confidential or commercial in confidence.