The Bank for International Settlements completed trials for Project Agorá, settling tokenized cross-border payments across six different currencies [1].
This pilot demonstrates a potential shift in global finance by proving that tokenized commercial bank deposits and central bank reserves can bypass traditional, slower settlement layers. If scaled, the technology could reduce the time and cost associated with moving money between different jurisdictions.
The multi-jurisdictional pilot involved a wide range of participants. Reports on the exact number of institutions vary, with figures ranging from 28 [1] and about 30 [2] to more than 40 regulated financial institutions [3]. These participants used a combination of tokenized central bank reserves and commercial bank deposits to execute the transactions.
According to the report released July 30, 2026, the total value settled during the trials was $1 million [1], though another report cited the figure as CHF 800,000 [4]. The trials focused on the efficiency of the settlement process, achieving an average settlement time of about 80 seconds per transaction [1].
The project aimed to show that a unified ledger approach can allow for the near-instantaneous exchange of value. By using tokenized assets, the participating banks were able to settle wholesale payments in seconds rather than the days often required by legacy banking systems [3].
The trials involved banks and central banks worldwide, testing the interoperability of different currency tokens within a single framework. The BIS said the results prove the viability of tokenized money for high-value, cross-border wholesale payments [1].
“The trials focused on the efficiency of the settlement process, achieving an average settlement time of about 80 seconds per transaction.”
The success of Project Agorá suggests a transition toward a 'unified ledger' for global finance. By moving from message-based settlement to a tokenized system where the asset and the payment are the same, the global financial system can eliminate the reconciliation delays that currently plague international trade. This moves the industry closer to a 24/7 real-time settlement environment for wholesale banking.
