Which BIS paper mentions the XRP Ledger, and does it mean the BIS is using XRP?

The full answer

What BIS Working Paper 1374 is

BIS Working Paper 1374 is a proof of concept on the XRP Ledger. Its title is “Verifiable official statistics: a blockchain-based approach”, and the Bank for International Settlements lists its publication date as September 2, 2026 [1]. The paper runs to 56 pages and has five authors [1].

The problem it tackles is narrow. SDMX, the standard used to share official statistics internationally, gives users no way to check that a data set came from the institution that issued it and has not been altered since, for example by third-party platforms or AI systems [1].

How the system uses the XRP Ledger

A cryptographic fingerprint is computed for each data set, and where needed for each time series in it. A single summary value covering a batch of data sets is then recorded on the XRP Ledger, where it is timestamped and cannot be changed afterwards [1]. Only fingerprints go on the ledger. The underlying data never does, which the authors say keeps it confidential [1].

The authors provide an open source reference implementation and a model of running costs [1]. On the prototype, publishing took three to five seconds and verification one to two seconds, measured under controlled test conditions [1]. The BIS summary adds that on-chain fees are negligible once modest batches are used, because one ledger entry can cover thousands of data sets [1].

Does the paper mean the BIS is using XRP

The paper itself sets two limits. It says its speed figures “describe a proof of concept rather than a hardened production system” [1]. Its publication page also states that the views expressed are the authors’ and do not necessarily reflect the views of the BIS or its member central banks [1].

Nothing in the BIS summary describes the BIS holding XRP or moving payments in it. The ledger’s role in the design is to store timestamped fingerprints [1]. The BIS has studied crypto markets before. Its Working Paper 1171, published March 13, 2024, put the typical debt multiple of decentralized finance wallets at 1.4 to 1.9 [2]. Publication in the series is a research output, not a statement of what the institution runs.

For a wider view of which firms do use the ledger or XRP in live services, see the page on which major financial institutions are involved with XRP, and the page tracking which parts of the XRP institutional stack are live and which are still waiting.

The case that the paper matters more than a disclaimer suggests

The authors are not outside academics. The BIS lists Rafael Schmidt as Head of MED IT, Edward Lambe as Head of MED Data Engineering and Deputy Head of MED-IT, Christian Schmieder as Head of Operations, and Glenn Philip Tice as a consultant and product manager, all in its Monetary and Economic Department; Mario Rusev is the fifth author [1]. Senior staff who run the BIS’s own data operations chose the XRP Ledger for the prototype and published working code [1].

That is the strongest evidence against reading the paper as a footnote. It still sits alongside the paper’s own words: a proof of concept, measured under test conditions, with views that belong to the authors [1].

What the BIS has and has not said since publication

The BIS publication page, dated September 2, 2026, carries the standard disclaimer and no further statement of institutional position [1]. news.bitcoin.com stated: “As previously reported by Bitcoin.com News , on Sept. 2, the BIS published research describing a prototype data-verification system built on the XRP Ledger and tested on XRPL DevNet, a fee-free test network.”