Archives

April 21, 2025 @ 1:50 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The rise of cryptocurrencies and decentralized finance (DeFi) has reshaped the financial landscape, offering alternatives to traditional finance (TradFi) while introducing unique risks. A report from the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), titled Cryptocurrencies and Decentralized Finance: Functions and Financial Stability Implications, examines these developments,… Read More

March 19, 2025 @ 8:27 am By Omar Faridi  |  

The rise of artificial intelligence (AI) hinges on a multifaceted supply chain, according to a Bank for International Settlements (BIS) report. Spanning five critical layers—hardware, cloud infrastructure, training data, foundation models, and AI applications—this ecosystem is shaped by rapid technological change, high fixed costs, economies… Read More

March 12, 2025 @ 9:26 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) recently released a paper focused on fast payments and financial inclusion in Latin America and the Caribbean, providing insights on how advancements in payment systems are reshaping financial access across the region. With over 100 jurisdictions worldwide adopting fast… Read More

August 29, 2024 @ 10:24 am By JD Alois  |  

In a working paper posted yesterday, the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) posted a treatise on Novel risks, mitigants and uncertainties with permissionless distributed ledger technologies (DLT). The executive summary of the paper is brief, explaining: “Banks that transact on permissionless blockchains or similar distributed… Read More

June 30, 2024 @ 4:11 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The rapid adoption of AI requires central banks to embrace the new technology, the Bank for International Settlements said recently, urging policymakers to anticipate the transformative effects of AI on the economy and to use it to sharpen their own analytical tools in pursuit of… Read More

June 17, 2024 @ 11:04 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) and the Bank of Canada launched the Toronto Innovation Centre, the first such centre to be established in the Americas and the seventh to be opened by the BIS in collaboration with partner central banks around the world. The… Read More

June 14, 2024 @ 7:00 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) and the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) have developed a blueprint for a platform that integrates regulatory and climate data to help financial authorities identify, monitor and manage climate risks in the financial system. Integrating climate risk analysis into… Read More

June 5, 2024 @ 10:35 am By JD Alois  |  

Yesterday, the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) revealed Project Rialto, a review of the potential for wholesale digital currency or using central bank digital currency (CBDC) in the settlement process for foreign exchange. BIS said that decentralized processes using interlinked payment infrastructures might be considered… Read More

June 5, 2024 @ 7:47 am By JD Alois  |  

Yesterday (June 4), the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) announced Project Rialto, an initiative that aims to review how instant cross-border payments could be improved using a “modular foreign exchange (FX) component combined with settlement in wholesale central bank digital currencies (CBD).” BIS said improving… Read More

May 30, 2024 @ 11:42 am By Omar Faridi  |  

The Bank for International Settlements’ Committee on Payments and Market Infrastructures (CPMI) has published its work program for 2024-25, highlighting its strategic priorities for policy, standard-setting, implementation and analytical activities. The program’s key themes are: Risk management of financial market infrastructures (FMIs). FMIs’ practices for… Read More

May 20, 2024 @ 11:37 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision recently released a report that considers the implications of the ongoing digitalization of finance on banks and supervision. The report builds on the Sound Practices: implications of fintech developments for banks and bank supervisors released in 2018, and “takes… Read More

May 15, 2024 @ 7:20 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Project Agorá, launched by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), a group of leading central banks and the Institute of International Finance (IIF), is requesting the private sector to join its exploration of how tokenization can enhance the functioning of wholesale cross-border payments. The call… Read More

April 6, 2024 @ 1:17 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) together with seven central banks has recently announced plans to join forces with the private sector to explore how tokenisation can enhance the functioning of the monetary system. Project Agorá (Greek for “marketplace”) reportedly “brings together seven central banks:… Read More

December 12, 2023 @ 9:44 am By Omar Faridi  |  

The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision met virtually on 5 and 7 December to discuss a range of policy and supervisory initiatives. The Committee took stock of its review of various elements of “the prudential standard for banks’ exposures to crypto-assets published in December 2022.”… Read More

November 29, 2023 @ 8:05 am By Omar Faridi  |  

The BIS published the concluding report of Project Tourbillon, which reportedly demonstrates that “cash-like anonymity” is possible in a retail central bank digital currency (CBDC). The project, developed by the BIS Innovation Hub Swiss Centre, has reportedly tested the concept of payer anonymity, which “provides… Read More

November 10, 2023 @ 8:23 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Anneke Kosse, Marc Glowka, Ilaria Mattei, and Tara Rice have examined in a new paper whether stablecoins do actually live up to their name and whether they serve as a reliable means of payment and store of value. Senior Economist Anneke Kosse attempts to address… Read More

October 4, 2023 @ 7:40 am By Omar Faridi  |  

BIS, De Nederlandsche Bank and the Deutsche Bundesbank are creating a data platform that has potential to shed light on the macroeconomic relevance of crypto-asset markets and decentralized finance (DeFi). Project Atlas combines on- and off-chain information, “creating a layered approach to data vetting and… Read More

September 30, 2023 @ 3:40 pm By Michael Wong  |  

The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) has successfully completed Project Mariana, a collaborative endeavor with the central banks of France, Singapore, and Switzerland, aiming to explore the potential of wholesale central bank digital currencies (wCBDCs) in cross-border trading and settlement between financial institutions. Developed jointly… Read More

September 12, 2023 @ 7:55 am By Omar Faridi  |  

  The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) has published its joint report on Project Sela. The initiative focused on the cybersecurity, technical, and policy aspects of a retail CBDC implementation. The HKMA is working with the Bank of Israel (BOI) and the Bank for International… Read More

August 23, 2023 @ 5:49 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) has published a paper entitled Financial Stability Risks from Cryptoassets in Emerging Market Economies (EME). As one may surmise, the report addresses the risk of crypto and the impact on traditional financial services, including bank disintermediation. The research was… Read More