Bank of Italy Calls for Cautious Digital-Asset Investment by Banks

Banks should not wait for complete certainty about emerging technologies before investing in digital capabilities, Bank of Italy Deputy Governor Chiara Scotti said on October 23, 2026. In remarks reported by Reuters, Scotti argued that delaying experimentation can create costs by postponing institutional learning and future opportunities.

Start small and stay flexible

Scotti said banks should prioritize investments that remain useful across different scenarios and help institutions build knowledge. She described limited-scale projects and staged commitments as a way to balance caution with innovation without forcing an early choice of one technological path.

“Only by experimenting” can banks understand how new digital technologies may fit their businesses, she said. The approach does not require lenders to make large, irreversible bets. Instead, it emphasizes controlled projects that can be adjusted as standards, customer demand and market structures develop.

Tokenisation remains uncertain

Scotti said it remains unclear how widely tokenisation will spread. The technology converts bank deposits into digital tokens that can move across blockchain-based networks. Despite the uncertainty, she said banks need to act if they want to preserve their role as issuers of private money as financial systems become more digital.

Her comments frame digital-asset investment as a learning and infrastructure question rather than a call for indiscriminate exposure. Banks can test applications, assess operational and regulatory implications, and expand only where the benefits and controls are clearer.

Sources

Reuters: Bank of Italy calls for digital-asset investments by banks