BIS Makes Progress in Tokenized Central Bank Reserves Initiative

The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) has made significant strides in its Project Agorá, a joint effort between the BIS, seven central banks, and over 40 private financial institutions. The project's primary goal is to develop a system that utilizes tokenized central bank reserves and commercial bank deposits for cross-border payments.

According to the BIS, Project Agorá has successfully completed simulation tests using blockchain-style rails to reduce handoffs and complete settlement simultaneously across jurisdictions. This approach allows for atomic settlement of transactions on an 'all-or-nothing' basis, eliminating the risk of one party being left exposed if the other leg fails.

The participating central banks include the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, the Bank of England, the Bank of Japan, and the Swiss National Bank, among others. The initiative has now moved beyond concept work and into an operating system, with active testing commencing in January 2026.

As part of the next phase, participants plan to move towards real-value transaction tests using selected currencies and institutions. This marks a significant step forward for Project Agorá, which aims to demonstrate the potential of tokenization for cross-border payments.