Project Helvetia
Project Helvetia is a Swiss National Bank project for settling tokenized financial assets in central bank money. The project compares an integrated model using wholesale CBDC with synchronized settlement through a connection to the Swiss Interbank Clearing system. Both approaches address the cash side of transactions on distributed ledgers used by financial institutions.
In the Helvetia pilot, the Swiss National Bank provides wholesale CBDC on the SIX Digital Asset Platform. The platform supports settlement of tokenized assets directly against this digital central bank money. SIX Digital Exchange provides the related Swiss infrastructure for issuing and settling digital securities.
Integrated settlement with wholesale CBDC
In the integrated approach, the money and the tokenized asset exist on the same distributed ledger infrastructure. The Swiss National Bank issues the wholesale CBDC used by eligible financial institutions to settle their transactions. Money and securities can then move together through delivery versus payment, where delivery of the asset depends on the corresponding payment.
According to the Swiss National Bank, this wholesale CBDC represents sight deposits held at the central bank in a technically different form. The economic and legal claim remains on the Swiss National Bank, while the settlement infrastructure changes.
Synchronized settlement through the SIC system
The second approach uses traditional central bank money in the Swiss Interbank Clearing system, known as SIC. An RTGS link coordinates settlement between the distributed ledger platform and the real-time gross settlement system. The asset and the money therefore remain on separate infrastructures whose transfers are synchronized.
The Swiss National Bank identifies SeturionX as a financial market infrastructure using this connection in a production environment. SeturionX operates a FINMA-licensed small DLT trading system, with tokenized assets settling on the public Ethereum blockchain. The cash side settles in SIC, while Project Helvetia examines the possibilities and limitations of this linked model.
Pilot status and the June 2028 horizon
The BIS Innovation Hub, SNB and SIX developed the first two experimental phases before the SNB continued with Phase III. The production pilot began on 1 December 2023, following tests of technical feasibility and integration with banking systems.
The current SNB project mandate states that Project Helvetia and the wholesale CBDC pilot run until at least June 2028. The SNB can extend the pilot and plans to communicate any extension early enough to support participant planning.
Transactions in a production environment do not establish a permanent decision to issue wholesale CBDC. The Swiss National Bank retains the decision about permanent introduction and may expand the participating institutions and supported financial transactions during the pilot.
Which institutions can participate?
Financial institutions seeking access to the wholesale CBDC pilot need a sight deposit account at the Swiss National Bank and admission to SIC. They must also complete onboarding on the SIX Digital Asset Platform before joining the pilot.
The Swiss National Bank defines participation conditions and the availability and use of wholesale CBDC in a binding document for admitted institutions. For an institution assessing access, central bank eligibility and platform onboarding are separate requirements that both need to be met.
What Helvetia means for banks and issuers
For a bank or securities issuer, the two approaches create different settlement and operational requirements. The integrated model places the tokenized asset and central bank money on one infrastructure, while the synchronized model coordinates separate systems. Assessing a transaction therefore requires identifying the cash settlement location, the participating institutions and the applicable platform rules.
Central bank digital currency includes public and institutional access models with different purposes. Helvetia concerns institutional settlement, while a retail CBDC would make digital central bank money available to households and businesses. Tokenized commercial bank deposits remain a separate claim on a commercial bank.
Events about tokenization and digital money
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Project Helvetia and Finance Loop
Finance Loop connects professionals working on digital money and tokenized assets across European financial centers. The relationship between money and securities belongs to both the payments and investment fields of the Finance Loop professional network.
The Point Zero Forum in Switzerland brings financial policy and technology into discussions among institutions. Companies can contact Finance Loop to discuss relevant expertise and professional introductions for their work on tokenized settlement.