• Building on the proposal for a unified ledger, the “trilogy” of tokenised central bank reserves, commercial bank money and government bonds is the next logical step to deliver profound change for the financial system.
• Tokenisation can enhance efficiency and open new possibilities in cross-border payments, securities markets and beyond, while maintaining the key principles of sound money: singleness, elasticity and integrity.
• Stablecoins as a form of sound money fall short, and without regulation pose a risk to financial stability and monetary sovereignty.

A tokenised unified ledger incorporating central bank money, commercial bank deposits and government bonds will lay the foundations of a tokenised monetary and financial system based on the time-tested principles of sound money, the Bank for International Settlements said today, as it called on central banks and public authorities to pave the way for this next phase.

A special chapter of the BIS’s Annual Economic Report 2025 builds on the principles of the unified ledger by laying out a more detailed blueprint for how this concept can combine the “trilogy” of tokenised central bank reserves, tokenised commercial bank money and tokenised government bonds, while maintaining the core elements of a sound monetary system based on trust in central bank money.

Tokenisation – the digital representation of assets on programmable platforms – integrates messaging, reconciliation and settlement into a single seamless operation, and can transform cross-border payments and securities markets, ushering in a new era for the financial system.

Hyun Song Shin, Economic Adviser and Head of the Monetary and Economic Department: “Tokenisation of deposits and central bank money means that both the primary means of payment as well as the settlement function of central bank money can be integrated seamlessly on the same programmable platform. It has the potential to transform securities markets and its application to correspondent banking is especially promising.”