- The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) has introduced “Project Atlas,” a proof of concept to explore the macroeconomic relevance of crypto markets and DeFi
- Project Atlas leverages data from cryptocurrency exchanges and public blockchains to enhance data collection methods
- It represents the first output from the recently created BIS Innovation Hub Eurosystem Centre
The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) has unveiled a proof of concept named “Project Atlas” aimed at investigating the macroeconomic significance of cryptocurrency markets and decentralized finance (DeFi). Project Atlas, which has been developed in conjunction with several European central banks and has been driven by the BIS Innovation Hub Eurosystem Centre, harnesses data from cryptocurrency exchanges (off-chain data) and data extracted from public blockchains (on-chain data). In its current proof of concept stage, Project Atlas will primarily focus on enhancing data collection methods and platform development to assist central banks with understanding the crypto market better.
Project Atlas Maps Crypto Data Flows
Project Atlas is the first product to come out of the BIS Innovation Hub Eurosystem Centre, which was founded in March. The authority has worked closely with the Dutch central bank in creating the platform, which employs a unique approach by utilizing Bitcoin network transactions between cryptocurrency exchanges and pinpointing the geographical locations of these exchanges to approximate cross-border capital flows.
The crypto industry contains a wealth of data, but its dispersion across multiple protocols, market players, and jurisdictions, coupled with a lack of standardized and regulated reporting, poses challenges for data collection. Project Atlas presents the resulting flows between countries on a globe interface, offering a user-friendly and easily accessible visualization.
Data Will Help Central Banks Understand Crypto Sector
Initial insights drawn from the preliminary data collected by the platform indicate that cross-border flows within the crypto space are economically significant and unevenly distributed across global regions.
BIS says that its first proof of concept “successfully showcases how to collect, clean and analyse data relevant to central banks’ mandates” and adds that it “provides a starting point for holistic analysis of existing data”. The upshot of such data, it says, will be to allow “informed decision-making within the financial sector.”
