The Bank of International Settlements (BIS) has introduced a new innovation center in Canada in partnership with the country’s central bank. On June 13, the BIS and the Bank of Canada (BOC) revealed the opening of the BIS Toronto Innovation Centre, which will support the BIS Innovation Hub’s mission. The Toronto center will focus on exploring new technologies to enhance inclusivity and efficiency in the financial sector.
The hub will concentrate on six key areas for BIS: central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), green finance, cybersecurity, open finance, regulatory and supervisory innovation, and next-generation financial market infrastructures. The announcement emphasized that the new center will serve Canada, Latin America, and the Caribbean. Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem emphasized the significance of the partnership between the hub and the central bank, along with the BIS, in driving innovation in the region.
BIS General Manager Agustín Carstens described the opening of the hub as a crucial milestone in the BIS’s efforts to shape the future of the financial system. He expressed excitement about collaborating with Canada’s central bank. “We are eager to work with the Bank of Canada and other central banks to promote a more modern, efficient, and inclusive financial system,” Carstens added.
On January 23, the BIS announced its work plan for 2024, which includes focusing on the second phase of CBDC privacy testing and launching a blockchain-based tokenization project. Additionally, on April 3, the BIS revealed a major collaboration with the central banks of France, Japan, South Korea, Mexico, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The joint initiative, known as “Project Agora,” aims to explore asset tokenization in the financial system and private institutions. It seeks to develop a unified ledger concept that connects wholesale central bank funds and tokenized commercial bank deposits.
In related news, a Deepfake AI ‘gang’ managed to drain $11 million from an OKX account, while Zipmex faced repercussions from the SEC: Asia Express.