Six major Swiss banks have launched a joint pilot program to test a stablecoin pegged to the Swiss franc using Ethereum’s ERC-20 standard. UBS, PostFinance, Sygnum, Raiffeisen, Zürcher Kantonalbank, and Banque Cantonale Vaudoise (BCV) are collaborating with Swiss Stablecoin AG to operate a regulatory sandbox that will run through 2026.
No regulated franc-backed tokens in Switzerland
Despite the rapid uptake of stablecoins globally, Switzerland has yet to see a widely adopted, regulated CHF-pegged token in circulation. US dollar-backed coins such as USDT and USDC remain dominant in cross-border payments and digital asset markets, leaving a notable gap for a regulated Swiss alternative.
The consortium intends to address this by creating a controlled test environment with limited access and transaction volume. The sandbox, built and maintained by Swiss Stablecoin AG, will allow participating financial institutions to trial various use cases of a CHF stablecoin with pre-defined safeguards.
Swiss Stablecoin AG, established to develop blockchain-based payment infrastructure for Swiss financial entities, delivers the technical foundation underlying the token’s issuance and transaction capabilities.
Participating banks will focus on asset transfer, payments, and settlement applications, reflecting ongoing interest among traditional institutions to explore digital money for operational efficiency.
UBS and Raiffeisen bring systemic weight
Of Switzerland’s four systemically important banks, UBS and Raiffeisen are directly involved in the stablecoin sandbox. Their participation, alongside Sygnum—a digital asset bank with a strong fintech presence—signals robust institutional commitment from both established and emerging players in the Swiss market.
UBS, BCV, Raiffeisen, and Zürcher Kantonalbank have already engaged in tokenized finance through the Swiss National Bank’s Project Helvetia, which evaluated wholesale central bank digital currency for securities settlement. Experience from such initiatives is expected to strengthen the current stablecoin pilot’s foundation.
Other institutions joining the sandbox will have the opportunity to contribute to and benefit from a wider digital asset ecosystem as Switzerland strengthens its position in decentralized infrastructure.
Opportunities for industry expansion
The pilot is open to additional Swiss firms and banks interested in exploring on-chain settlement and tokenized asset management, providing a framework for possible industry-wide adoption. The project’s design is intended to encourage broader ecosystem growth rather than remain a closed demonstration.
Sygnum emphasized that the importance of stablecoins continues to grow amid wider digital transformation in finance. In a statement, the bank highlighted collaborative efforts to accelerate domestic payments innovation:
“Stablecoins are playing an increasingly important role in the global transformation of the financial system. In this context, joint projects help drive practical adoption and ecosystem maturation.”
Parallel efforts in Europe include a consortium of 12 banks developing Qivalis, a digital euro token, as well as projects led by major players such as Deutsche Bank and Goldman Sachs experimenting with stablecoins for settlement and payments.
While some MiCA-compliant Swiss franc stablecoins, like AllUnity’s CHFAU, are already operational, the goal for this multi-bank initiative is to focus on the institutional settlement layer. The sandbox will conclude in 2026, with an interim update expected later in the year, while full details on broader access and commercial deployment have not yet been announced.
