The Bank for International Settlements has released a working paper demonstrating how the XRP Ledger can be used to verify the integrity of official economic statistics. The study, Verifiable Official Statistics: A Blockchain-Based Approach, was published on September 2, 2026, as BIS Working Paper No. 1374.
Researchers combined the Statistical Data and Metadata eXchange standard with Merkle trees and XRP Ledger records. The prototype stores cryptographic fingerprints of datasets on-chain while keeping the underlying data off-chain, allowing institutions to check whether published economic data has been altered. Digital credentials also help verify issuer identity.
According to the paper, median publication times were 3 to 5 seconds, and verification took 1 to 2 seconds. Network fees remained negligible when datasets were grouped into batches, and the implementation was released as open source.
The BIS did not announce central bank adoption of XRP or recommend buying the token, and the framework could be adapted to other blockchains. Still, the experiment provides technical evidence of an institutional use case for the XRP Ledger.
Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve held its benchmark rate at 3.75% to 4% on October 28, 2026. The vote was 10–2, with Governors Lisa D. Cook and Beth M. Hammack dissenting in favor of a 25-basis-point increase. The Fed said inflation remains elevated, leaving uncertainty around the December meeting and broader macro conditions for digital assets.
