- BIS’ 2024 Strategy Revealed: CBDC and Tokenization Key Focus.
- The Promissa project uses blockchain technology to digitize promissory notes.
- Project Aurum enhances CBDC privacy in retail payments through HKMA.
The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) is set to make significant progress in digital currency research, emphasizing central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) and tokenization in its 2024 strategy.
The BIS Innovation Hub has outlined a comprehensive program that includes six new projects exploring cybersecurity, financial crime, CBDC and green finance. Among the key plans are the second phase of Project Aurum and the launch of Project Promissa, a blockchain-based tokenization project.
Project Promissa: Innovation in financial products through tokenization
The Promissa project, jointly promoted by BIS, the Swiss National Bank and the World Bank, aims to usher in a new era of financial products. Focusing on the digitization of promissory notes, a traditional, paper-based financial promise, the project leverages blockchain technology to increase transparency and simplify management.
This proof-of-concept platform will transform the way promissory notes are processed by digitizing them, in line with BIS’ efforts to find innovative solutions in the tokenization space. The plan is expected to complete the proof-of-concept phase by early 2025.
Project Aurum: Enhancing CBDC Privacy in Retail Payments
Building on the success of the wholesale interbank system and retail CBDC prototypes in 2022, Project Aurum, jointly implemented by BIS and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), will proceed to its next stage.
This project explores privacy aspects of retail payments using CBDC. Building on the HKMA’s work in developing a strong foundation for Aurum, research is now providing a deeper understanding of the complexities of privacy in retail CBDC payments. This initiative is consistent with the broader BIS strategy, which highlights the pivotal role of CBDCs in the evolving landscape of digital currencies.
Additional initiatives from BIS
Along with tokenization and CBDC-focused projects, BIS is introducing four other initiatives – Project Leap, Project Symbiosis, Project Hertha and Project NGFS Data Directory 2.0 – that address cybersecurity, green finance and financial crime.
These projects highlight BIS’s commitment to a multifaceted approach to shaping the future of financial technology. Additionally, continued interest in projects such as Mandala, Pyxtrail and Cambridge demonstrate BIS’s commitment to innovation, automation and experimentation across various aspects of the financial industry.