The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) has named Tommaso Mancini-Griffoli, a top digital currency expert from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), as the new head of its Innovation Hub, effective March 2026. This appointment marks a significant step in advancing global digital finance initiatives.
Mancini-Griffoli previously served as the assistant director in the IMF's Monetary and Capital Markets Department, where he led work on payments and currencies. He is renowned for advocating regulated digital money models and has frequently warned about the risks of unregulated stablecoins, emphasizing the need for public-backed arrangements.
Under his leadership, the BIS Innovation Hub will accelerate research and implementation in key areas, including central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), tokenized assets, and next-generation financial market infrastructure. Notable projects under the Hub's purview include the cross-border CBDC settlement network mBridge, the tokenized deposit infrastructure Agora, and real-time payment systems like Project Nexus.
Mancini-Griffoli has championed the concept of synthetic CBDCs, which involve private institutions issuing digital money fully backed by central bank reserves, blending public-sector safety with private-sector innovation. He has argued that this model, along with tokenized financial instruments, should operate within a public-money architecture to ensure systemic stability and settlement finality.
Despite the potential for innovation, challenges remain, such as balancing financial stability with technological advances, ensuring privacy while preventing illicit activities, and creating inclusive digital currency systems. This leadership change underscores the BIS's commitment to shaping the future of global finance through regulated digital asset development.
