The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) has conducted an experimental proof-of-concept test using the XRP Ledger (XRPL) to anchor cryptographic fingerprints of official statistics on-chain, according to a BIS working paper. This initiative explored how statistical agencies could provide an independent method for users to verify the origin and integrity of published data without altering existing dissemination systems.
The BIS working paper, No 1374, details a system that hashes datasets formatted according to standards like SDMX and Canonical XML 1.1, using algorithms such as SHA3-512. These cryptographic fingerprints are then recorded on the XRPL’s DevNet. A summary Merkle root of these hashes is written to the Memos field of an XRPL Payment transaction, ensuring confidential data remains off-ledger.
Technical Approach and Benefits
The authors state that this approach bypasses the need for smart contracts, thereby avoiding associated gas costs and contract risks. The XRPL’s low base fee of 10 drops (0.00001 XRP) makes anchoring data on-chain nearly free. The paper notes that a single ledger entry can encompass thousands of datasets, reducing the on-chain cost per dataset to a fraction of a cent. File headers also incorporate W3C Verifiable Credentials, signed by the publisher, to enhance authenticity.
According to the BIS working paper, recording these cryptographic fingerprints takes approximately three to five seconds, with verification completed in one to two seconds. The paper highlights the XRPL’s fast consensus finality and its published technical analysis as beneficial factors for this application.
Contextualizing the Exploration
This is not the first time the BIS has explored public blockchains. Previously, it conducted Project Mariana, which trialed wholesale central bank digital currency settlement on a public chain involving the central banks of France, Singapore, and Switzerland. The current test utilized XRPL’s DevNet, which mirrors the mainnet’s transaction format and cadence for realistic testing.
The paper also references other institutional uses of the XRP Ledger, including a pilot that linked the ledger to interbank rails with JPMorgan, Mastercard, and Ondo for settling tokenized Treasury bills in under five seconds. Ripple has also published an institutional roadmap for XRPL, focusing on compliance credentials and permissioned trading.
Limitations and Future Considerations
However, the authors emphasize that this build is an experimental proof-of-concept. They state that a production service would require additional measures, such as hardware-backed signing, pinned validator nodes, and formal load testing. The paper explicitly reaches no adoption decision and gives no endorsement of XRP. The views expressed are those of the authors and do not represent the official stance of the BIS or its member central banks.
Why This Matters
The materials describe a narrow update: A BIS working paper details a proof-of-concept where the XRP Ledger was used to record cryptographic fingerprints (hashes) of official statistics, allowing for independent verification of data origin and integrity without altering existing dissemination systems. Whether this proof-of-concept will lead to production adoption.
Broader Context
Source materials place the factual news in this context: International organizations (the BIS among them) rely on the SDMX standard to exchange official statistics.
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