On the third floor of the dark cylindrical tower that is home to the Bank for International Settlements, I was faced with a sight that made me blink in surprise: white walls.
This may not sound very startling, so let me explain. The BIS is the central bankers’ central bank. It’s based in Switzerland, one of the world’s renowned financial centres. When I’ve visited previously, its decor was reassuringly traditional: dark wood panelling, sober chairs, bland colours, dull art. Like most central banks, it projects an aura of timeless, marble-pillared stability.
But the white walls are one sign that a curious cultural experiment is taking place here. A year ago, the BIS launched half a dozen “innovation hubs” that would embrace initiatives in the crypto and cyber worlds. Most notably, it is helping to create a string of central bank digital currency (CBDC) projects across the globe. About 114 countries were exploring CBDCs at the end of 2022, 20 were piloting them and 11 had launched them according to the Atlantic Council, the international affairs think-tank. The Bank of England, which has been mulling a CBDC since late 2021, has just announced that a “digital pound” is likely to be needed in the future.