Project Helvetia Phase I: settling tokenised assets in central bank money
Project Helvetia was a multi-phase investigation by the BIS Innovation Hub, the Swiss National Bank (SNB) and the financial infrastructure operator SIX.
Phase I was concluded in December 2020. It demonstrated the functional feasibility and legal robustness of settling tokenised assets with a wholesale central bank digital currency (wCBDC) (PoC1) and with linking a DLT platform to the existing central bank payment system (PoC2).
From a central bank perspective, the PoC2 proved operationally simpler, as it requires no changes to existing central bank operated systems and raises fewer policy questions, while PoC1 provides more scope for future innovation and efficiency gains in the settlement process.
Project Helvetia is purely experimental and does not indicate that the SNB intends to issue wCBDC.
Delivery versus payment
Redemption of w-CBDC
Redemption of wCBDC (PoC1) 00:09:13
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