France: Announced Bank for International Settlements inquiry into tokenisation of cross-border payments (Project Agorá)

On 3 April 2024, the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) in collaboration with seven central banks from France, Japan, Mexico, Republic of Korea, Switzerland, United Kingdom, and the United States of America, announced the initiation of Project Agorá. This inquiry aims to explore the potential of tokenisation and smart contracts in enhancing the monetary system, particularly focusing on the tokenisation of wholesale central bank money and commercial bank deposits on programmable platforms. The project seeks to investigate how these technologies could improve the speed, integrity, and cost-efficiency of international payments. By partnering with a broad group of private financial firms convened by the Institute of International Finance (IIF), Project Agorá will delve into the integration of tokenised assets within a public-private programmable core financial platform, aiming to address structural inefficiencies in current payment systems, especially across borders.