Project Helvetia constituted a multi-stage investigation undertaken by the BIS Innovation Hub, the Swiss National Bank (SNB), and financial infrastructure operator SIX. The central focus of this project was to explore the potential methods through which central banks could enable settlements using central bank money in a future financial landscape characterized by an increased prevalence of tokenized financial assets based on distributed ledger technology (DLT). The primary areas of examination encompassed operational, legal, and policy considerations.
This collaborative endeavor involved examining how the offering of central bank money for wholesale settlement could be adapted in a scenario where distributed ledger technology (DLT) and tokenization gain traction within financial markets. The project consisted of two distinct proofs of concept (PoCs) aimed at facilitating settlement of tokenized assets:
- The first PoC involved the issuance of an innovative wholesale central bank digital currency (w-CBDC).
- The second PoC entailed the creation of a connection between the new securities settlement platform of SDX and the pre-existing central bank payment system.
The project unfolded in two main phases:
- Phase I leveraged the testing environments of the Swiss real-time gross settlement system known as the SIX Interbank Clearing (SIC) system, as well as the SIX Digital Exchange (SDX), a platform dedicated to trading and settling tokenized assets.
- Phase II extended the work conducted in Phase I by introducing commercial banks into the experiment, integrating wholesale central bank digital currency (w-CBDC) into both the core banking systems of the central bank and commercial banks, and executing end-to-end transactions.
The outcomes of Project Helvetia were positive. Within a highly realistic environment closely resembling live operations, the project demonstrated the feasibility of utilizing new technologies to employ central bank money for settling securities transactions. Moreover, it highlighted that central banks interested in such endeavors have multiple avenues to explore. The results indicated that not only is it viable to establish connections with existing systems, but also the potential exists to introduce an innovative form of central bank money — referred to as wholesale central bank digital currency (w-CBDC).
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