Tourbillon, a project launched by the BIS Innovation Hub’s Swiss Centre, aims to improve cyber resiliency, scalability, and privacy in a prototype Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC). Central banks have identified these as core features of CBDCs, but designing them involves trade-offs. The project combines technologies such as blind signatures and mix networks with the latest research on cryptography and CBDC design. It focuses on achieving cyber resiliency through quantum-resistant design and cryptography, scalability through a separate transaction architecture, and privacy for the payment sender while still complying with regulatory and compliance checks. The project’s conclusions will be relevant for both wholesale and retail CBDC systems, with the goal of completing the prototype by mid-2023.
HomeCBDCBIS ProjectsExploring Cyber Resilience, Scalability, and Privacy in a Prototype CBDC: Project Tourbillon