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Bank for International Settlements Reveals Launch of ‘Project Atlas’ in Effort to Track and Monitor Crypto
In Summary
- Project Atlas is a collaboration among major centralised banks in Europe attempting to streamline market data from the crypto and DeFi sectors.
- The first report was released today, looking at how crypto assets from exchanges move geographically.
- The data collected will be geared toward central entities like government policy makers and banks, but will also benefit traders and businesses operating in the blockchain industry.
The Bank for International Settlements (BIS), in partnership with financial institutions across Europe, has been working toward a data system for analysing and managing decentralised finance (DeFi) market data. The project has reached its “proof of concept” phase and the first report was released today, depicting how cryptoassets flow across geographical locations.
What is Project Atlas?
Project Atlas is an innovative collaboration among major European banks to gather insights into the economic activity and relevance of cryptocurrencies – in particular, those that are traded on decentralised markets. Although market data is easy enough to access (think platforms like Coinmarketcap or DeFi Llama), it is not always accurate, regulated or standardised. Project Atlas is attempting to rectify this by mapping a global standard for crypto activity across blockchains and exchanges. Data is gathered by combining information from centralised exchanges (off-chain) with on-chain activity taken directly from validator/mining nodes.
Head of the BIS Innovation Hub, Cecilia Skingsley, said:
We are developing a new and important public good for central banks globally. The data on cross-border flows are relevant for areas like payments and macroeconomic analysis.
Cecilia Skingsley, Head of the BIS Innovation Hub
What Can We Expect From Project Atlas?
Project Atlas is intended to be more than just a data hub for crypto inflows and outflows. By providing reliable and trustworthy insights into the crypto and DeFi markets, governments and banks will have a better understanding of underlying blockchain technology and how they can adopt the tech into their own services.
Economic researchers will be able to access and interpret tiny trends in market activity, while institutional and governmental regulators can see live data through a single dashboard. In addition, the project will help analysts identify gaps in the sector, or inconsistencies in data provided by other sources.
Author
Ben Knight
Ben Knight is a writer and editor from Melbourne with a passion for all things music and finance. He enjoys turning complex topics – especially the technical details of cryptocurrency – into digestible bites that anybody can understand. He acquired his Master’s in Writing, Editing and Publishing from RMIT in 2019 and has run his own creative writing business ever since.
