The Swiss National Bank (SNB) has revealed its plans to launch a pilot project for a wholesale central bank digital currency (wCBDC), as reported recently.
According to the SNB’s chair, Thomas Jordan, the project will commence in the near future. The wCBDC will be issued on the Swiss SIX digital exchange and will run for a limited duration.
Notably, the SIX Group operates Switzerland’s largest stock exchange.
Jordan emphasized during the Point Zero Forum in Zurich on June 26 that this initiative is not merely an experiment but an opportunity to test real transactions with market participants, as the wCBDC will hold the same value as bank reserves.
Last year, SNB governing board member Thomas Moser stated that CBDCs could integrate well with decentralized finance.
As part of Project Helvetia, the SNB previously incorporated a wCBDC into the back-office systems of five banks after successfully completing a proof of concept.
This current stance differs from the opinion expressed by SNB chief economist Carlos Lenz a year earlier, who had deemed blockchain unsuitable for CBDC and stated that Switzerland had no intention of issuing one.
Regarding retail CBDC, Thomas mentioned that caution is exercised at present, but he did not rule out the possibility of its introduction in the future.
Another SNB governing board member, Andréa Maechler, spoke at a separate event during this year’s Point Zero Forum and mentioned that the central bank does not anticipate the replacement of cash within the country.
Maechler had stated last year that SNB officials believed the risks associated with a retail CBDC outweighed the potential benefits.
In summary, the SNB’s announcement of the wCBDC pilot project on the Swiss SIX digital exchange marks a significant step towards exploring the potential of central bank digital currencies.
While the SNB remains cautious about retail CBDCs, this move showcases their commitment to innovation and testing real-world transactions with market participants.
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