But experts warn that for enterprises, the virtual gold rush can put corporate networks at risk and inflate cloud central processing unit usage, adding cost.
The BIS concluded that wholesale digital currencies and their underlying technologies have the potential to make settlement of securities and derivatives transactions more efficient.
Such exchanges are acting as custodians for a commodity that can't be copied or double-spent, in an environment where possession is nine-tenths of the law.
The episode has heightened calls for stricter oversight at a time when many governments are struggling to formulate a response to the digital-asset boom.
The Japanese cryptocurrency exchange Coincheck says roughly $400 million of the digital currency NEM was stolen. If banks and others are to invest in the digital-asset industry, it will have to do better.
All told, hacks involving cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin have cost companies and governments $11.3B through lost potential tax revenue from coin sales and illegitimate transactions.
