Switzerland Wholesale Digital Franc (Project Helvetia)
Swiss National Bank
Status
Architecture
Cross-Border Projects
Project Agorá
Role: participant
Capabilities
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Switzerland have a CBDC?
Yes, Switzerland is developing Switzerland Wholesale Digital Franc (Project Helvetia), currently in pilot phase.
What is the status of Switzerland's CBDC?
Switzerland Wholesale Digital Franc (Project Helvetia) is in pilot phase as of 2026-02-17. The pilot program is actively testing with real users.
When did Switzerland launch its CBDC pilot?
The pilot launched on 2023-12-01.
How many people use Switzerland's CBDC?
User and wallet metrics are not publicly available at this time.
Is Switzerland's CBDC retail or wholesale?
Switzerland Wholesale Digital Franc (Project Helvetia) is a wholesale CBDC designed for interbank settlements and large-value transactions.
Which central bank manages Switzerland Wholesale Digital Franc (Project Helvetia)?
Switzerland Wholesale Digital Franc (Project Helvetia) is managed by Swiss National Bank.
Recent Developments
According to the Swiss National Bank (SNB), Project Helvetia is a multi-phase initiative testing wholesale CBDC (wCBDC) for settling tokenized assets using distributed ledger technology (DLT). Phase 1 (2020) tested technical feasibility of integrating wCBDC into Swiss Interbank Clearing (SIC) with BIS Innovation Hub and SIX. Phase 2 (concluded January 2022) involved five commercial banks including Credit Suisse, UBS, Goldman Sachs, and HSBC testing DLT-based settlement with back-office integration. Phase 3 - Helvetia III - launched December 1, 2023 as an ongoing pilot issuing Swiss franc wCBDC on the regulated SIX Digital Exchange (SDX) platform. By mid-2024, the pilot enabled four tokenized bond issuances and one secondary market transaction, with over CHF 750 million in digital bonds settled to date involving banks like UBS and Zuercher Kantonalbank. In June 2025, SNB extended the pilot to at least June 2027 and expanded it to test settlement using traditional central bank money via RTGS link to BX Digital's platform, connected to SIC. This complements the integrated wCBDC approach on SDX without committing to permanent issuance. Participants are limited to SNB sight deposit account holders admitted to SIC and SDX members. The pilot supports private innovation with SNB retaining full discretion on production rollout.
Updated: 2/17/2026