Project Mariana successfully tested cross-border settlement capabilities of wholesale central bank digital currencies (wCBDCs) across major global markets.
Facts
- Project Mariana, initiated in November 2022, was a collaborative effort between BIS, Banque de France, Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), and Swiss National Bank.
- It aimed to explore the use of tokenization and automated market makers (AMM) in the $7.5 trillion daily global foreign exchange (FX) market.
- The project examined how wCBDCs and DeFi could enhance FX trade and settlement transparency.
- Using a public blockchain-based network, the project simulated an interbank FX market with Swiss franc, euro, and Singapore dollar wCBDCs.
- Three key conclusions: 1) FX trading and settlement in a single step via wCBDCs and AMM, 2) Elimination of intermediaries using a transnational network, and 3) Creation of an interoperable FX interbank market for cross-border trades.
- Project participants emphasize it’s purely experimental and doesn’t imply wCBDC issuance or DeFi endorsement by partner central banks.
- BIS Innovation Hub head, Cecilia Skingsley, hails the success of cross-border wCBDC exchange with automated market makers.
- Thomas Moser of Swiss National Bank highlights the importance of safe and efficient cross-currency pricing and exchange mechanisms shown in Project Mariana.
