BIS' Project Agora Finds Tokenization Could Make Cross-Border Payments Faster, Safer
The experiment found tokenized reserves and deposits could support atomic settlement, and participants will now test real-value transactions to cut delays and failed payments.
- Project Agora, a joint effort between the BIS, seven central banks, and more than 40 private financial institutions, concluded that tokenization could support atomic settlement across global currencies and jurisdictions.
- Global authorities, led by the Group of 20, have prioritized making international payments faster and cheaper this year, as current cross-border transfers often take days and involve multiple intermediaries.
- BIS Deputy General Manager Andrea Maechler reported successful testing of "tokenised central bank reserves" and "tokenised commercial bank deposits," while Canada's central bank will join the project this week.
- Participants now plan to move beyond simulations toward testing real-value transactions, though Maechler noted the project has a different "constellation" of participants than competing digital payment initiatives.
- Although "not production-ready yet," Agora aims to move towards "24/7" global payments, leveraging blockchain rails to reduce delays and transaction failures in the financial system.
26 Articles
26 Articles
London. A group of major central banks in the world and more than 40 major commercial institutions, including those in Mexico, will intensify the testing of one of the most followed digital payment projects on an international scale, as the race to modernize and dominate the international financial architecture accelerates.
BIS Project Agora Shows Tokenized Payments Can Settle in Seconds With 40+ Bank
A new Bank for International Settlements prototype built under Project Agora has shown that tokenized central bank reserves and commercial bank deposits can settle wholesale cross-border payments in seconds across multiple currencies and jurisdictions, a task that takes the existing correspondent system days. The findings, published on 27 May 2026, came out of a public-private effort the BIS ran with the Institute of International Finance, seven…
BIS Project Agorá Shows Tokenized Payments Cut Settlement Risk - Invest In Crypto News
The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) released a report Wednesday on Project Agorá, an experimental prototype for cross-border wholesale payment. The BIS said the report shows how seven central banks and more than 40 regulated financial institutions can settle cross-border wholesale payments in seconds once liquidity is locked, while reducing credit and settlement risk through atomic settlement using tokenized central bank reserves and co…
Coverage Details
Bias Distribution
- 50% of the sources lean Left, 50% of the sources are Center
Factuality
To view factuality data please Upgrade to Premium
