French bank BNP Paribas will use the Ethereum and Tezos blockchains, along with Crédit Agricole CIB and Caisse des Dépôts, to explore the creation of a digital interbank currency (DIBC).
As part of technological development and innovation, BNP Paribas, the world's eighth-largest bank based in France, alongside its colleague Crédit Agricole IPC, another French bank and financial company Caisse des Depots, they chose the blockchain de Ethereum y tezos to develop a new pilot project that will allow the creation of a digital interbank currency (Digital Interbank Currency, DIBC), whose function will be to allow transactions within digital platforms based on blockchain and in Distributed Accounting Technology (DLT).
“The project will explore how financial transactions involving digital assets can be settled on platforms initially using Ethereum and Tezos technologies.”
The project will aim to explore the potential of designing and creating a DIBC and study the impact of its use to settle financial transactions related to digital assets within the Ethereum and Tezos blockchains. Likewise, the release The entity explains that it will study the implications of “atomic” transactions to understand their potential in relation to speed and costs. For its part, the intention of this initiative is also related to the legal field, since the entity affirms that it will collaborate with the European Union to explore and understand the new digital industry, and effectively contribute with efficient work that adds value to the regulatory framework of the organization applicable to digital assets.
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More participants for 2021
In the statement, BNP Paribas indicates that the DIBC exploration project will be completed in 2021, but that it will also integrate new participants to enrich its research work. These participants include the tokenization solutions firm tokens and Blockchain Group's subsidiary, The Blockchain XDEV, both with extensive experience in the implementation of blockchain technology for the management and transfer of values and for the design of profitable, transparent, secure and trustworthy commercial solutions.
The alliance between all these entities and companies seeks to explore the operational impact that the development of a digital interbank currency (DIBC) will have, as well as to enable the execution of several projects that allow the implementation of a new payment method between entities. BNP Paribas is actively involved in several projects focused on enabling the transfer of value tokens within blockchain networks, as well as using smart contracts (smart contracts) to design innovative applications that allow connecting to the world's main stock exchanges, reliably and in real time.
A well-deserved recognition for these blockchains
The attractive and unique characteristics of both blockchain networks have helped them to be selected by entities such as these for the execution of large-scale projects, such as the recent one. Spanish President Pedro Sánchez’s announcement that the bank made Société Générale to implement the Tezos blockchain to develop the CBDC in France. Likewise, the technology offered by Ethereum is not far behind.
The recent implementations made by the software and blockchain technology company on Ethereum, ConsenSys, such as its participation in developing a digital border payments infrastructure between Thailand and Hong Kong and more recently the contract awarded to it by Société Générale to also participate in the development of its CBDC, have invited companies to look at the potential of this blockchain.
Finally, it is important to note that talking about DIBC is not the same as talking about the French CBDC, since the former focuses on interbank transactions, allowing the exchange of assets and fiat through blockchain networks, while the central bank digital currency (CBDC) is a currency that represents the digital form of the euro and, as its name indicates, will be issued by the Central Bank.
Continue reading: ConsenSys wins project for the development of the digital euro together with the Société Générale of France
