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

cointelegraphPublished on 2026-07-31Last updated on 2026-07-31

Abstract

The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) has announced the completion of initial real-value trials for Project Agorá, a tokenized cross-border payment system. The trials involved 28 central and commercial banks settling approximately $1 million (800,000 Swiss francs) across 17 different transaction scenarios. The system successfully used tokenized central bank reserves and commercial bank deposits to process payments in six major currencies, with average settlement times of around 80 seconds. Participants included major central banks such as the Bank of England and Bank of Japan, alongside global commercial institutions like JPMorgan Chase and Citi. Launched in 2024, Project Agorá aims to explore how tokenization can improve wholesale cross-border payments, with this phase marking a key milestone. The BIS confirmed testing will continue as the project develops.

The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) said 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 said 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 launched 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 said the July trials marked an important milestone and that testing will continue as Project Agorá progresses.

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

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Related Questions

QWhat is the main achievement announced by the BIS regarding Project Agorá?

AProject Agorá successfully completed real-value testing of tokenized wholesale cross-border payments, settling about 800,000 Swiss francs (approximately $1 million) across 17 different transaction scenarios.

QWhich currencies were used in the settlement trials conducted by Project Agorá?

AThe trials settled payments using Swiss francs, euros, pounds sterling, Japanese yen, South Korean won, and US dollars.

QWhat was the average settlement time for the tokenized payments in the BIS trials?

AThe average settlement time for the tokenized payments was about 80 seconds.

QName some of the participating central banks and commercial banks in the Project Agorá trials.

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

QWhat is the primary goal of Project Agorá, launched by the BIS in 2024?

AProject Agorá aims to explore how tokenized commercial bank deposits and central bank reserves can improve cross-border wholesale payments.

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Bank of Korea Reveals Results of Tokenized Deposit Testing

The Bank of Korea has announced the results of its pilot test for tokenized deposits. Involving 28 central banks and international financial organizations, the project saw participation from major South Korean banks including KB Kookmin Bank, NH NongHyup Bank, Shinhan Bank, Woori Bank, and Hana Bank. Transactions, from payment orders to final settlement, were completed in real time, averaging just 80 seconds. The test involved 30 transactions across 17 different scenarios—such as corporate and interbank transfers—and was conducted in six currencies, including the Korean won, US dollar, and euro, with a total transaction value reaching approximately $995,000. The central bank reported that the platform operated stably throughout, despite being only partially connected to the existing banking infrastructure. Settlements using tokenized deposits were executed seamlessly, quickly, and transparently. An internal transfer of 20 million won (about $13,890) between NH NongHyup Bank and Shinhan Bank was also successfully processed via the Project Agora platform, which involved connecting to the Bank of Korea's CBDC test platform, Project Hangang. Additionally, KB Kookmin Bank and Japan's MUFG Bank tested cross-border payments using these deposit tokens—digital certificates issued by commercial banks within the pilot, not directly by the central bank. The Bank of Korea plans to continue testing payments with tokenized deposits. This follows last year's pledge by South Korean authorities to tighten regulations for won-based stablecoins, which will require approval from both the central bank and the Financial Services Commission.

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Bank of Korea Reveals Results of Tokenized Deposit Testing

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