The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) and central banks from France, Singapore, and Switzerland have successfully completed Project Mariana, testing cross-border trading of wholesale central bank digital currencies (wCBDCs) on a public blockchain, potentially reshaping the digital currency landscape.

The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) and a coalition of central banks from France, Singapore, and Switzerland have achieved a significant milestone with the completion of Project Mariana. This initiative explored the cross-border trading and settlement of wholesale central bank digital currencies (wCBDCs) utilizing DeFi technology on a public blockchain.

The collaboration, involving BIS Innovation Hub centers in Switzerland and Singapore, along with the Eurosystem, Banque de France, Monetary Authority of Singapore, and Swiss National Bank, successfully validated the trading and settlement of hypothetical euro, Singapore dollar, and Swiss franc wCBDCs. The project also delved into concepts like standardized technical tokens and Automated Market Makers (AMMs) for streamlined wCBDC transfers.

While this marks a pivotal step toward enhancing cross-border payments, it’s important to note that Project Mariana is in an experimental phase. BIS and its partners plan to further investigate the opportunities and challenges associated with CBDC and DeFi technologies. The aim is to create a global network interoperable with regional platforms for cross-border payments.

This development comes on the heels of BIS’s previous success in a cross-border digital currency pilot last year, showcasing their commitment to harnessing blockchain for settlements. However, more experiments and trials are on the horizon as the world of CBDCs continues to evolve.