On September 28th, the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) and the central banks of France, Singapore, and Switzerland concluded a joint test of the cross-border trading and settlement of wholesale central bank digital currencies (CBDCs).
Under the supervision of the BIS, the Banque de France, the Monetary Authority of Singapore, and the Swiss National Bank developed the so-called Project Mariana.
It has examined the trading and settlement of notional euro, Singapore dollar, and Swiss franc CBDCs between simulated financial institutions utilizing decentralized finance (DeFi) technology concepts on a public blockchain.
The concept utilizes a common token standard on a public blockchain, bridges for the seamless transfer of CBDCs between various networks, and a specific type of decentralized exchange to trade and settle spot foreign exchange transactions automatically.
According to the press release, the participants view the experiment as a triumph, but “further research and experimentation are required.” In addition, it expresses concern regarding the experimental character of Project Mariana, stating:
“Project Mariana is purely experimental and does not indicate that any of the partner central banks intend to issue CBDC or endorse DeFi or a particular technological solution.”
The day before the public publication of Project Mariana, Agustín Carstens, general manager of the BIS, spoke about the need to clarify the national legal frameworks in countries where central banks lack the authority to issue CBDC.
The BIS remains the primary proponent of cross-border CBDCs, with several global demonstration programs in operation. Thus, in September, the central banks of Hong Kong and Israel disclosed the results of their Project Sela, and the CEO of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, Eddie Yue, announced the expansion of Project mBridge, which already included the central banks of China, Thailand, and the United Arab Emirates.
