Project Agora is a bank consortium initiative aiming to build a multicurrency unified ledger merging tokenized bank deposits with central bank money.
It involves central banks and commercial banks, integrating smart contracts for compliance, payments, and settlement sequencing.
Participants include major central banks like the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Bank of England, and Bank of Japan, along with private sector banks and infrastructure providers.
The project tests programmable fiat as an alternative to stablecoins for global value movement within regulated financial systems.
Project Agora seeks to address cross-border payment inefficiencies by providing a credible alternative to private stablecoins.
While stablecoins offer speed and programmability, they also pose systemic risks like regulatory arbitrage and concentration of power.
Central banks are exploring digital currency solutions in response to the rise of private stablecoins.
The initiative aims to elevate institutional transfers by combining tokenized central bank money with commercial tokens on a shared digital platform.
Project Agora does not eliminate stablecoins but provides a supervised alternative that promotes compliance and institutional usability.
The project's experimental nature aims to produce tangible results in enhancing cross-border payment infrastructures.