SIX collaborates with SNB to pilot wholesale CBDC issuance in Switzerland

SIX, the Swiss Nationwide Financial institution (SNB) and 6 industrial banks, will collaborate on a ground-breaking pilot targeted on tokenized central financial institution cash for monetary establishments.

This pilot, Helvetia Section III, will, for the primary time, see the orchestration of an actual Swiss Franc wCBDC settling digital securities transactions.

SIX Digital Trade (SDX) will act as trusted gateway and can host the pilot on its digital asset platform. The pilot builds on the findings of earlier Helvetia phases by the BIS Innovation Hub, the Swiss Nationwide Financial institution (SNB) and the monetary infrastructure operator SIX (Helvetia Section I and II).

The collaboration will contain Banque Cantonale Vaudoise, Basler Kantonalbank, Commerzbank, Hypothekarbank Lenzburg, UBS, and Zürcher Kantonalbank as present SDX member banks. Along with the SDX platform, the pilot makes use of the infrastructure of Swiss Interbank Clearing SIC, which is operated by SIX and SIX SIS, the nationwide Central Securities Depository (CSD) of the Swiss monetary market and an Worldwide Central Securities Depository (ICSD).

The pilot will run from December 2023 to June 2024.

The target of the pilot is to check, in a reside manufacturing atmosphere, the settlement of main and secondary market transactions in wCBDC. Collaborating banks will have the ability to difficulty digital Swiss Franc bonds, which shall be settled in opposition to wCBDC on a delivery-versus-payment foundation.

Venture Helvetia Section III will even lengthen to the settlement of repo transactions, that are initiated on the CO:RE buying and selling platform of SIX Repo and administered by the Triparty Agent of SIX SIS. These transactions, that are carried out in check environments, shall be collateralized by digital bonds eligible for SNB repo transactions and settled on SDX in wCBDC.

Jos Dijsselhof, CEO of SIX, commented:

“Switzerland is on the forefront of digital monetary innovation. This collaboration between SIX, the Swiss Nationwide Financial institution, and 6 industrial banks on the pilot operation for tokenized central financial institution cash is a pioneering leap. It’s a testomony to our dedication to the way forward for digital finance and underscores the transformative energy of DLT within the monetary system.”

The collaboration underscores the position of DLT as a catalyst for digital asset adoption, showcasing elevated transparency and effectivity within the regulated monetary system.

“Switzerland has taken a number one position on this technological evolution, led by a broad array of economic market contributors, together with SIX, SDX particularly and our members and in collaboration with the SNB. This ground-breaking initiative is poised to open a brand new period of digital finance and form the trajectory of the worldwide monetary business”, provides David Newns, Head of SDX.