Agora 計畫選擇 41 位私部門參與者探索代幣化存款與 CBDC 的整合

國際清算銀行 (BIS) 已選擇 41 家私營部門參與者加入 Agora 項目，該項目旨在探索如何將代幣化存款與 CBDC 集成，以簡化支付和跨境轉帳。

The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) has announced the addition of more than 40 banks and clearing houses to participate in Project Agora, an initiative that aims to integrate tokenized deposits with CBDCs for efficient cross-border fund transfers.

國際清算銀行 (BIS) 宣布增加 40 多家銀行和清算所參與 Agora 項目，該計劃旨在將代幣化存款與 CBDC 整合，以實現高效的跨境資金轉移。

Launched in April 2024 by the BIS in collaboration with seven central banks, Project Agora is the latest effort to explore the tokenization of bank deposits and CBDCs. The project initially involved seven central banks, including the Bank of England (BoE), the Bank of Mexico, and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

Agora 計畫由國際清算銀行與七家央行合作於 2024 年 4 月推出，是探索銀行存款和 CBDC 代幣化的最新努力。該計畫最初涉及七家央行，包括英格蘭銀行（BoE）、墨西哥銀行和紐約聯邦儲備銀行。

The initiative will see the participation of some of the world's largest banks, including Citi (NASDAQ: C) and JPMorgan (NYSE: JPM) in the U.S., Sumitomo Mitsui (NASDAQ: SMFG) and MUFG (NYSE: MUFG) in Japan, and HSBC (NYSE: HSBC) and Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE: LLDF) in the U.K. Non-bank participants include Mastercard (NYSE: MA), Swift, Visa (NYSE: V), the SIX Digital Exchange, Monex, and Euroclear.

全球一些最大的銀行將參與該計劃，包括美國的花旗銀行（納斯達克股票代碼：C）和摩根大通（NYSE：JPM）、日本的三井住友銀行（納斯達克股票代碼：SMFG）和三菱日聯金融集團（NYSE：MUFG）以及英國匯豐銀行（NYSE：HSBC）和勞埃德銀行集團（NYSE：LLDF） 非銀行參與者包括萬事達卡（NYSE：MA）、Swift、Visa（NYSE：V）、SIX Digital Exchange、Monex 和Euroclear。

The participation of banks and clearing houses in Project Agora is being coordinated by the Institute of International Finance, a global financial industry trade group. To be eligible for participation, a company must be regulated in a participating jurisdiction and be significantly involved in cross-border payments.

銀行和清算所對 Agora 計畫的參與是由全球金融業貿易集團國際金融研究所協調的。為了獲得參與資格，公司必須在參與司法管轄區受到監管，並且大量參與跨境支付。

The project aims to enhance the efficiency of cross-border wholesale fund transfers by exploring the use of tokenized commercial bank deposits, which can be integrated with tokenized wholesale CBDC. This approach seeks to enable all participants in the process, including the central banks and the corresponding banks, to complete all the required steps, such as AML and information checks, at once.

該專案旨在透過探索使用代幣化商業銀行存款（可與代幣化批發 CBDC 整合）來提高跨境批發資金轉帳的效率。這種方法旨在使過程中的所有參與者，包括中央銀行和相應銀行，能夠立即完成所有必需的步驟，例如反洗錢和資訊檢查。

By utilizing smart contracts to automate these processes, the initiative aims to eliminate the possibility of transactions failing after a few stages due to a lack of alignment between the steps completed by different participants. This will also enhance transparency and reduce the risk of errors.

透過利用智慧合約來自動化這些流程，該計劃旨在消除由於不同參與者完成的步驟之間缺乏一致性而導致交易在幾個階段後失敗的可能性。這也將提高透明度並減少錯誤風險。

“Smart contracts can enable new ways of settlement and unlock types of transactions that are not viable or practical today, in turn offering new opportunities to benefit businesses and people,” the BIS noted in a statement.

國際清算銀行在一份聲明中指出：“智能合約可以實現新的結算方式，並解鎖當今不可行或不切實際的交易類型，從而提供造福企業和人民的新機會。”

One of the key aims of Project Agora is to unlock cost efficiency and speed by eliminating the need for participants to repeat financial integrity checks, such as AML and customer verification. This will be achieved through the use of smart contracts and a unified ledger, which will provide a common infrastructure for tokenized deposits, CBDCs, and any other form of tokenized currency or asset.

Agora 計畫的主要目標之一是透過消除參與者重複財務完整性檢查（例如反洗錢和客戶驗證）的需要來釋放成本效率和速度。這將透過使用智慧合約和統一分類帳來實現，這將為代幣化存款、CBDC 和任何其他形式的代幣化貨幣或資產提供通用基礎設施。

“In Project Agorá, we want to explore a new common payment infrastructure that could bring all these elements together and might make the system work more efficiently together on a digital core financial infrastructure,” Cecilia Skingsley, who heads the BIS Innovation Hub, has explained previously.

BIS 創新中心負責人 Cecilia Skingsley 解釋道：「在Agorá 計畫中，我們希望探索一種新的通用支付基礎設施，該基礎設施可以將所有這些要素整合在一起，並可能使系統在數位核心金融基礎設施上更有效地協同工作。

The initiative builds upon the concept of a unified ledger, which was proposed by the BIS last year. It provides a common infrastructure where tokenized deposits, CBDCs, and any other form of tokenized currency or asset can interact with the guarantee of settlement finality.

該倡議建立在國際清算銀行去年提出的統一分類帳概念的基礎上。它提供了一個通用的基礎設施，代幣化存款、CBDC 和任何其他形式的代幣化貨幣或資產都可以與結算最終性保證進行互動。

The unified ledger is essentially the BIS’ response to the threat of blockchain technology. In a bid to protect its interests and those of its member banks whose business models could be disrupted by blockchain, BIS seeks to offer a centralized platform that masquerades as an efficient ledger for tokenized assets.

統一帳本本質上是國際清算銀行對區塊鏈技術威脅的回應。為了保護其利益以及其商業模式可能被區塊鏈擾亂的成員銀行的利益，BIS 尋求提供一個集中式平台，偽裝成代幣化資產的高效分類帳。

Meanwhile, Qatar has taken a significant step in its efforts to promote blockchain adoption by activating the Digital Assets Lab and welcoming the first batch of participants.

同時，卡達透過啟動數位資產實驗室並歡迎第一批參與者，在促進區塊鏈採用方面邁出了重要一步。

After years of banning digital assets, Qatar has been gradually softening its stance in recent months. A month ago, the Qatar Financial Centre (QFC) revealed that it was exploring asset tokenization in its push for digital finance.

經過多年禁止數位資產後，卡達近幾個月來逐漸軟化立場。一個月前，卡達金融中心（QFC）透露，正在探索資產代幣化以推動數位金融。

In the latest development, QFC has opened the doors to its Digital Assets Lab and welcomed the first 24 participants. According to CEO Yousuf Mohamed Al-Jaida, this cohort will benefit from QFC's comprehensive support system, enabling them to deploy, test, and commercialize their digital asset solutions.

在最新進展中，QFC 開放了數位資產實驗室的大門，並迎來了首批 24 名參與者。執行長 Yousuf Mohamed Al-Jaida 表示，該群體將受益於 QFC 的全面支援系統，使他們能夠部署、測試和商業化其數位資產解決方案。

The initiative will also see the participation of board partners, including Google Cloud (NASDAQ: GOOGL), local lender Masraf Al Rayan, and blockchain consortium R3.

該計劃還將吸引董事會合作夥伴的參與，包括Google雲端（納斯達克股票代碼：GOOGL）、當地貸款機構 Masraf Al Rayan 和區塊鏈聯盟 R3。

Tokenization is set to be a key focus for the participants in the Digital Assets Lab. With experts indicating that tokenization could unlock up to $16 trillion by the decade’s end, Qatar is among the nations scrambling to play a part in this revolution.

代幣化將成為數位資產實驗室參與者的重點關注點。專家表示，到本世紀末，代幣化可能會釋放高達 16 兆美元的價值，卡達是爭先恐後參與這場革命的國家之一。

Commenting on the milestone, Al-Jaida highlighted the pivotal role of the participants' efforts in advancing digital asset solutions across the wider Qatari ecosystem.

Al-Jaida 在評論這一里程碑時強調了參與者在更廣泛的卡達生態系統中推進數位資產解決方案的努力所發揮的關鍵作用。

“The technologies we aim to develop through the Lab will support our goal of creating a resilient and secure financial sector, fostering a thriving wealth management hub, and positioning Qatar at the forefront of innovation,” he said.

他表示：“我們旨在透過實驗室開發的技術將支持我們的目標，即創建一個有彈性和安全的金融部門，培育一個繁榮的財富管理中心，並將卡達置於創新的前沿。”

Watch: Finding ways to use CBDC outside of digital currencies

觀看：尋找在數位貨幣之外使用 CBDC 的方法