The Swiss National Bank (SNB) has announced that it shall launch a wholesale central bank digital currency (wCBDC) pilot project with bank chair Thomas Jordan stating that the project will begin “soon.”

The wCBDC will be issued on the Swiss SIX digital exchange and will be run for a limited time, according to a quote by Jordan at the Point Zero Forum in Zurich which occurred on the 26th of June. A report issued by the SNB highlights the significance of this pilot project:

“This is not just an experiment; it will be real money equivalent to bank reserves and the objective is to test real transactions with market participants.” Additionally, SNB governing board member Thomas Moser believes that central bank digital currencies work well within a decentralized finance setting.

Last year, the SNB incorporated a wCBDC into the back-office systems of five banks in early 2022 as part of its Project Helvetia initiative. While he did not rule out the introduction of retail CBDCs, Thomas stated that the bank remains “a little bit prudent” on the matter.

Sources:

https://cointelegraph.com/news/swiss-central-bank-announces-plans-wholesale-cbdc-pilot-with-real-money-report

https://www.reuters.com/markets/currencies/snb-launch-digital-currency-pilot-chairman-2023-06-26/

https://www.pymnts.com/cbdc/2023/swiss-national-bank-preps-wholesale-cbdc-test/