BIS will focus on ensuring CBDC privacy this year

In November, the organization had already presented the first prototype of an anonymous national cryptocurrency

23.01.2024 - 15:45

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What’s new? The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) has started a new phase of studying ways to ensure the privacy of national cryptocurrencies or central bank digital currencies (CBDCs). The organization has named this area as one of its priorities this year. Head of the BIS Innovation Hub Cecilia Skingsley said that privacy-enhancing technologies available for use in retail services will be explored.

Material by DL News

What else is known? The research is being conducted as part of Project Aurum at the BIS Hong Kong center, with input from local financial regulators and academics. Project Aurum was launched in 2021 to study the architecture of multi-functional CBDCs.

The BIS Innovation Center also said it will release a minimum viable product (MVP) called mBridge that facilitates cross-border payments and is compatible with CBDCs of multiple central banks.

Authorities’ CBDC initiatives have been met with criticism in many countries due to the risks of total control over citizens. In the US, the issuance of the asset has already been banned in several states, with a bill to ban it at the federal level pending in Congress. Donald Trump has promised to prevent the emergence of the digital dollar if re-elected as president.