The new project Tourbillon aims to reconcile trade-offs between the three elements of cyber resiliency, scalability, and privacy
A new project, launched by the BIS Innovation Hub’s Swiss Centre and called Tourbillon, explores how to improve cyber resiliency, scalability and privacy in a prototype Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC).
The project team aims to combine technologies such as blind signatures and mix networks with the research on quantum-resistant cryptography to avoid trade-offs between the three elements.
The CBDC design was suggested by researchers David Chaum, inventor of eCash and creator of xx network, and Thomas Moser, alternate member of the Governing Board at the Swiss National Bank.
In theory, the proposed system will make each transaction separate, scaling resources linearly. However, the project needs to verify the linear scalability of the design with realistic parameters before making conclusions about its efficacy.
As for the experiments with privacy settings, Tourbillon wants to provide privacy for the payment sender but not for the recipient to counter illicit activities. At the same time, regulatory and compliance checks will continue to apply.
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