Switzerland is planning to launch a wholesale central bank digital currency (CBDC).
- The Bank for International Settlements (BIS), the Swiss National Bank (SNB) and the country’s stock exchange, SIX, has piloted the integration of wholesale CBDC settlement.
- The prototype also includes five other commercial banks: Citi, Credit Suisse, Goldman Sachs, Hypothekarbank Lenzburg, and UBS.
- Wholesale CBDC is not the same as a digital currency issued by a central bank, an idea Switzerland has already ruled out.
- None of the SNB or SIX has confirmed that the launch of the wholesale CBDC in Switzerland is close. Most countries have started at least considering some form of CBDCs.
- Benoît Cœuré Hub Head BIS innovation stated that the innovation had been utilized to perverse the best elements of the current financial system, including settlement in central bank money while unlocking new benefits.
The testing, which was conducted over three days at the beginning of December 2021, determined that issuing a wholesale CBDC was operationally possible and feasible under Swiss law.
BTC USD up +0.55%
Source: CoinDesk
