BIS appoints cryptocurrency expert as head of Eurosystem Center

The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) has appointed central bank digital currency specialist Rafael Auer as head of the Eurosystem Center innovation center.

According to BIS, central bank digital currency expert Raphael Auer will join the BIS Innovation Hub team in February as head of a new innovation hub in the European region. Auer currently holds the position of Chief Economist in the Innovation and Digital Currencies Division of the BIS Currency and Economic Department.

The head of the BIS Innovation Center, Benoît Cœuré, has high hopes for Auer to build partnerships with other innovative financial centers. According to him, the Eurosystem Center will be a key Innovation Hub project and will provide a link to the dynamic innovation ecosystem of the Eurozone.

“I am delighted to have Rafael join the Innovation Hub team. His deep knowledge of digital currencies and financial technology, derived from his extensive experience as a policy economist and research economist, will solidify the intellectual foundation for the practical experimentation of Innovation Hub, ”said Køre.

Auer has authored many articles on Central Bank digital currencies, stablecoins and cryptocurrencies. He has also published extensively on international economics and monetary policy. Prior to joining BIS in 2015, he served as Deputy Head of International Trade at the Swiss National Bank.

Eurosystem Center will start operations in Frankfurt and Paris in the first half of 2022. It will join the growing network of Innovation Hubs launched by BIS in Hong Kong, London, Switzerland, Singapore and Stockholm. This network of centers was created in 2019 to develop cooperation between central banks in the field of financial technology development.

BIS policy, on the one hand, is aimed at promoting state digital currencies, on the other hand, it calls for tougher regulation of cryptocurrencies. Last month, Köre spoke of the need to develop rules to regulate the DeFi industry, which should apply in all jurisdictions.

Köre previously expressed the opinion that government cryptocurrencies are the best use for digital assets. In early 2021, BIS President Agustin Carstens said central banks should take the lead in developing and issuing digital currencies.

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