Written by Yohan Yunstaff editorReviewed by Bryan O’Sheastaff editor

Written by Yohan Yunstaff editor

Reviewed by Bryan O’Sheastaff editor

BIS Project Agorá settles $1 million in tokenized cross-border payment trials

Latest NewsPublishedJul 31, 2026

Twenty-eight financial institutions and central banks completed real-value settlements across six currencies using tokenized central bank reserves and commercial bank deposits.

The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) stated Project Agorá completed real-value testing of tokenized wholesale cross-border payments, with 28 financial institutions and central banks settling about 800,000 Swiss francs (about $1 million) across 17 transaction scenarios.

The BIS stated Thursday that the tests used tokenized central bank reserves and commercial bank deposits to settle payments in Swiss francs, euros, pounds sterling, Japanese yen, South Korean won and US dollars, with an average settlement time of about 80 seconds.

Participants included the Bank of England, Bank of France, Bank of Japan, Bank of Korea and the Swiss National Bank, alongside commercial banks including JPMorgan Chase, Citi, Deutsche Bank, BNP Paribas, UBS, Standard Chartered and MUFG.

Project Agorá is a BIS initiative introduced in 2024 to explore how tokenized commercial bank deposits and central bank reserves can improve cross-border wholesale payments. In May, the project reported that its prototype demonstrated atomic settlement across multiple currencies and jurisdictions.

The BIS stated the July trials marked an crucial milestone and that testing will continue as Project Agorá progresses.

Related: Former BIS chief softens stance on stablecoins, backs coexistence with fiat

Cointelegraph is committed to independent, transparent journalism. This news article is produced in accordance with Cointelegraph’s Editorial Policy and aims to provide accurate and timely information. Readers are encouraged to verify information independently.

• Banks
• JPMorgan Chase
• Citi
• Bank of Japan
• Bank of England
• BIS
• Payments
• Blockchain

More on the subject

Aave weighs closing 6 V3 blockchain markets, offboarding 50 low-utilize reserves

2 hours ago

Adrian Zmudzinski

Luno cuts 20% of staff as crypto layoffs spread across 12 firms in July

Jul 30, 2026

Ezra Reguerra

US arbitration giant launches specialist panel for crypto disputes

Jul 30, 2026

Ezra Reguerra

News Brief

Aave weighs closing 6 V3 blockchain markets, offboarding 50 low-utilize reserves

2 hours ago

Adrian Zmudzinski

Luno cuts 20% of staff as crypto layoffs spread across 12 firms in July

Jul 30, 2026

Ezra Reguerra

US arbitration giant launches specialist panel for crypto disputes

Jul 30, 2026

Ezra Reguerra

News Brief