BIS Calls for Global Coordination to Safeguard Trust in Money

2026-06-24 · Market News · QuoteReporter

BIS Calls for Global Coordination to Safeguard Trust in Money

The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) has released a press statement highlighting the need for global coordinated efforts to preserve trust in money in the digital age, as outlined in its forthcoming Annual Economic Report 2026. The BIS emphasizes that the path to the next-generation monetary and financial system lies in leveraging innovation to improve today's two-tier financial infrastructure while safeguarding trust in money.

Key Findings & Data

The BIS report assesses evolving forms of financial architectures based on programmable platforms and different instruments that provide money-like functions. It notes that current stablecoin designs fall short in terms of key properties that ensure trust in money, particularly singleness, or the ability to redeem different forms of money exactly at par in exchange for central bank money. The report also highlights that circulation on public, permissionless blockchains and features of their design introduce challenges for resilience against financial crime and redeemability and interoperability across ledgers.

The BIS explores a range of stylised scenarios to illustrate potential ramifications of wider stablecoin adoption, which could lead to significant changes in bank funding and credit provision and potentially pose financial stability challenges. The effects depend on the composition of stablecoin reserves, how they are ultimately used and regulated, and how other parts of the system react.

Global Financial System Implications

The BIS notes that high global demand for stablecoins, which are mostly denominated in US dollars, could make capital flows more volatile and challenge monetary sovereignty in economies with relatively weaker fundamentals. The report suggests that widespread adoption of stablecoins could affect macroeconomic and financial stability.

The BIS emphasizes that financial innovation can deliver significant benefits when anchored in sound institutional arrangements, consistent legal frameworks, and strong supervision. Bringing tokenisation into the current financial system, where central banks provide the monetary anchor and commercial banks provide services to the public, can open new possibilities such as programmable payments.

Policy Signals

The BIS calls for global coordinated policy efforts on two fronts: tackling the weaknesses of the current stablecoin architecture and bringing the technological advances of tokenisation into the two-tier system. The report outlines how this vision could be achieved through a "unified ledger" that integrates different forms of tokenised money in the same venue.

The BIS suggests that the appropriate regulatory measures depend on whether stablecoins are used for payments at scale or confined mostly to use as investments. The Project Agorá prototype, a public-private partnership that brings together eight central banks and over 40 regulated institutions, showcases the potential to improve wholesale cross-border payments.

BIS Outlook

The BIS Annual Economic Report 2026 is set to be published on 28 June 2026, along with the BIS Annual Report 2025/26. The report highlights the need for domestic and international coordination and cooperation to shape the future of money, the economy, and the financial system in the public interest while preserving trust.

According to Pablo Hernández de Cos, BIS General Manager, achieving this will require authorities to integrate digital innovation such as tokenisation into the existing financial architecture. The BIS is set to continue its work in this area, with the forthcoming reports providing further insights into the evolving monetary and financial landscape.