Status
PILOT
Program Snapshot
Current status fields and timeline data from the profile record.
Type
WHOLESALE
Program classification
Wallets
Not listed
Annual Volume
Not listed
Status and Timeline
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Announced | Not listed |
| Pilot start | 2023-12-01 |
| Launch | Not listed |
| Last verified | 2026-04-22 |
Availability
- Retail
- none
- Wholesale
- pilot
Central Bank
Swiss National Bank
Technical Profile
| Attribute | Value |
|---|---|
| Type | Wholesale |
| Architecture | two-tier |
| Access model | token based |
| Technology base | dlt |
| Legal tender | pilot only |
Capabilities
offline payments: No
programmability: Yes
cross border: Yes
interest bearing: No
transaction limits: Yes
Cross-Border Projects
Project Agorá
Role: participant
Recent Updates
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: Apr 22, 2026
Reference Answers
Is Project Helvetia a retail Swiss CBDC for the public?
high confidenceAs of 2026-04-21No. Project Helvetia is a wholesale CBDC and settlement-infrastructure pilot for financial institutions, not a public retail Swiss-franc rollout.
The Swiss National Bank's own project page and June 2025 press release frame Helvetia as an exploration of how tokenised assets can be settled in central bank money. The SNB has been providing wholesale CBDC on the SIX Digital Exchange platform since the end of 2023 and extended the pilot to at least mid-2027, but it explicitly says this is not a commitment to a permanent wholesale CBDC, let alone a public retail launch.
- Project Helvetia is focused on tokenised-asset settlement in central bank money.
- The pilot has operated on the SIX Digital Exchange since the end of 2023.
- The SNB explicitly says the extension does not commit it to permanent wholesale CBDC issuance.
Citations
- Project Helvetiacentral bank · T1
Caveats
- This answer is about Project Helvetia's wholesale scope, not every Swiss payment-innovation initiative.
Related CBDCs
Sources
Sources
Last verified: 2026-04-22
Project Helvetia - Swiss National Bank
central bank
SNB extends Project Helvetia pilot until mid-2027 - SNB Press Release
central bank
Project Helvetia: Settling Tokenized Assets in Central Bank Money
central bank
Project Helvetia - BIS Innovation Hub
regulator
Wholesale CBDC on SIX Digital Exchange
research