SHIFT · GLOBAL
Project Agorá tokenized wholesale payments settle in 80 seconds; BIS real-value test shows proof of concept
BIS-led public-private pilot (Project Agorá) demonstrated tokenized cross-border wholesale payments settling in ~80 seconds end-to-end. Real-value test confirms feasibility of blockchain-native settlement.
WHY IT MATTERS
If tokenization scales, wholesale payment infrastructure shifts from correspondent banking to direct settlement. Custody, liquidity management, and reconciliation workflows require redesign; early movers gain settlement cost and speed advantage.
Source: PYMNTS · 2026-07-31