#24: Project Helvetia III: Settling Tokenized Assets with a Wholesale CBDC

CBDC Broadcast

10 Apr

10th April 2024

With:

| Thomas Moser (Swiss National Bank)

| David Newns (SIX Digital Exchange)

In this session, Thomas Moser (Swiss National Bank) and David Newns (SIX Digital Exchange) join FNA to discuss the historic third phase of Project Helvetia. For the first time, the Swiss National Bank (SNB) has integrated a live Swiss franc wholesale CBDC (wCBDC) into a DLT-based financial market infrastructure to settle real-world tokenized bond transactions.

Our guests delve into the practicalities of this "near-live" setting, focusing on how settling in central bank money—the safest form of settlement—impacts liquidity demands. We explore the delicate balance of preventing liquidity fragmentation while embracing the efficiency of atomic, T+0 settlement on the SIX Digital Exchange (SDX).

Key Discussion Points:

Production vs. Pilot: The transition from experimental testbeds to a live production environment for CHF wholesale CBDC.
Liquidity Management: Analyzing how DLT-based settlement alters liquidity demands for participating commercial banks.
Fragmentation Risks: Strategies for ensuring that tokenized settlement doesn't silo liquidity away from traditional RTGS systems.
Operational Lessons: Key takeaways from the first wave of digital bonds issued by the World Bank and Swiss cantons using wCBDC.

Watch on Demand:

Listen on: Spotify | Apple Podcasts | Amazon Music