The Bank for International Settlements (@BIS_org) has published the findings of Project Agora, confirming that tokenizing central bank reserves and commercial bank deposits can deliver atomic
The Bank for International Settlements (@BIS_org) has published the findings of Project Agora, confirming that tokenizing central bank reserves and commercial bank deposits can deliver atomic settlement across currencies and jurisdictions. The prototype works. Real-value testing is the next phase.
The initiative, a joint effort between the BIS and more than 40 private financial institutions, concluded that tokenizing central bank reserves and commercial bank deposits could significantly improve the speed and reliability of payments across borders. More specifically, the project demonstrated that atomic, multi-currency settlement of wholesale cross-border payments is achievable securely and with finality across currencies and jurisdictions. By using smart contracts, the shared platform allows financial institutions to embed compliance requirements and conditional payment triggers directly into transactions, reducing reconciliation burdens and manual friction.
The Bank of Canada joined the initiative this week, announcing it will participate in ongoing testing of the multi-currency unified ledger. It joins the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Bank of England, Bank of Japan, Bank of Korea, Swiss National Bank, Bank of France, and Bank of Mexico. The private-sector roster includes JPMorgan, Mastercard, BNP Paribas, Standard Chartered, and Euroclear, among others. The current testing phase is expected to last around six months, after which findings will be presented to policymakers.
The BIS findings land as institutional momentum around tokenization continues to build. DTCC and the Stellar Development Foundation announced on May 27 that they plan to connect DTCC's tokenized securities platform to the Stellar ($XLM) network. Tokenized assets custodied by DTCC's Depository Trust Company could become available on Stellar during the first half of 2027, as part of a broader multi-chain strategy. DTCC plans to begin limited production trades in July 2026, with a full platform launch set for October, covering Russell 1000 stocks, major ETFs, and US Treasuries. Nasdaq and ICE are also developing their own blockchain-based tokenized stock systems.
The convergence of central bank validation and Wall Street infrastructure investment marks a meaningful shift. What stablecoins and DeFi have demonstrated at the retail and permissionless layer, Project Agora is now confirming at the wholesale level. The regulated plumbing of global finance is being rebuilt on tokenized rails.
Sources:CoinDesk: BIS Project Agora finds tokenization could make cross-border payments faster, saferBank of Canada: Bank of Canada joins BIS Project AgoraCoinDesk: DTCC taps Stellar for tokenized securities network
