The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) is advancing its support for tokenization in wholesale cross-border payments through Project Agora. Announced on Wednesday, the project demonstrated that tokenization can enhance the efficiency of cross-border transactions by utilizing tokenized central bank reserves and commercial bank deposits. This initiative aims to address the slow transfer times, often taking one to five days, due to compliance checks across jurisdictions. Project Agora, initiated in 2024, involves major central banks including the U.S. Federal Reserve, the Bank of England, and the Bank of Japan, along with over 40 private banks. The project will now enter a six-month operational trial using actual money, incorporating features like anti-money laundering screening. The Bank of Canada highlighted the potential benefits of tokenization for the Canadian economy, emphasizing faster, cheaper, and more secure cross-border payments. The global tokenized market, currently valued at $34 billion, is projected by Grayscale to potentially reach $300 trillion.