Switzerland Wholesale Digital Franc (Project Helvetia)

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: Feb 17, 2026