SIX reports success following digital currency transfer experiment

For the first time in Europe, a test transfer involving central bank digital currency has been carried out. As part of this experiment, banks in Switzerland and France transferred digital versions of the euro and the Swiss franc between each other, further details of which can be found in a press release. A tokenized commercial paper was also exchanged against wholesale central bank digital currency (wCBDC) denominated in euro.

The transaction was carried out within the framework of Project Jura, which is responsible for overseeing a range of experiments focused on digital currency. The project is a public-private collaboration led by SIX, the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), the Swiss National Bank (SNB) and the French central bank (Banque de France). On the private sector side Accenture is heading up a consortium that also includes UBS, Credit Suisse, the SIX Digital Exchange (SDX), the French bank Natixis as well as the R3 consortium.

“Project Jura shows that wCBDC can offer a secure, fast and efficient way to use central bank money in settling international FX and securities transactions on a single production-grade platform – our own SIX Digital Exchange. We are excited to be part of this pioneering project”, explains Jos Dijsselhof, CEO of SIX.

According to the press release, Project Jura is merely an exploratory venture and should not be interpreted as a signal that the parties involved are planning to issue wholesale central bank digital currency in the future.