Project Tourbillon showcases retail CBDC with cash-like anonymity

Project Tourbillon, developed by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) Innovation Hub Swiss Centre, aims to explore privacy, security, and scalability for retail central bank digital currencies (CBDCs). The project introduces a new privacy paradigm that enables payer anonymity, providing cash-like anonymity to the payer. Privacy is a crucial requirement for retail CBDCs, as indicated by recent surveys conducted by the Bank of England and the European Central Bank. The project tested the concept of payer anonymity, where consumers can make payments using CBDCs without disclosing personal information to anyone, including the merchant, banks, and the central bank. However, the identity of the merchant is disclosed to the merchant’s bank. This concept helps to reduce tax evasion and illicit payments. Privacy is a challenging requirement to solve, as it necessitates technological protection without the risk of abuse. Security and scalability are also important factors in handling payments for retail CBDCs. The project developed two prototypes based on the eCash design, focusing on cash-like digital payment instruments and enhanced security features. The report discusses the experimental work and provides insights for central banks. Quantum-safe cryptography was implemented successfully but requires further research for speed enhancements. Project Tourbillon is an initial step in exploring privacy, security, and scalability in retail CBDC design, with the need for additional work to improve quantum-safe cryptography and explore viability.

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