Trust in Money in the Age of Tokenisation: the BIS 2026 Annual Report

1Introduction

Chapter III of the BIS Annual Economic Report 2026, published in June, returns to a basic question: what makes money work as the economy’s coordination device? Any innovation, whether a gradual improvement or a leap into tokenised finance, must respect the attributes that built trust in money.

2Discussion

The BIS says that by integrating innovations such as tokenisation into the existing financial architecture, authorities can shape the future of money in the public interest while preserving trust, which requires domestic and international cooperation.

On stablecoins the report is direct: current designs fall short on key properties of trust, especially singleness, the ability to redeem exactly at par for central bank money. Circulation on public permissionless blockchains also complicates financial-crime resilience, redeemability and interoperability. Their growth impact may be modest, but wider adoption could significantly change bank funding and credit provision.

The BIS proposes continuing the unified-ledger approach, combining tokenised central bank reserves, tokenised commercial bank money, other well-designed and supervised private monies, and tokenised assets, with robust safeguards. Internationally consistent regulation can prevent arbitrage and fragmentation.

3Conclusion

For fintech firms, the practical point is that the future of digital payments will likely be built on supervised infrastructure anchored in central bank money.