tl;dr
The Spanish central bank has partnered with Minsait to launch a third trial for a wholesale central bank digital currency (CBDC). The trial will focus on a natively digital bond and explore the efficiency and cost-saving potential of a wholesale CBDC in the bond market. The CBDC will be used to sett...
The Spanish central bank, Banco de España, has partnered with Minsait to conduct a third trial for a wholesale central bank digital currency (CBDC). This trial focuses on a natively digital bond and aims to explore the efficiency and cost-saving potential of a wholesale CBDC in the bond market.
The CBDC will be utilized to settle the issuance of a digital bond and various secondary transactions, including bond redemption and coupon payments. Delivery versus payment using the CBDC and the digital bond will be experimented with on the same infrastructure. Furthermore, Banco de España will launch a simulated central securities depository (CSD) and invite industry players to participate.
This trial follows the central bank's previous CBDC efforts and is separate from the regional digital euro initiatives. Several European countries, including France, Germany, Switzerland, and Italy, have also launched their own CBDC trials.
In 2021, Minsait partnered with eCurrency, a CBDC research and development firm, to provide tools and services to central banks exploring digital currencies. Banco de España has intensified its CBDC efforts, partnering with tech firms for various trials, including tokenized deposit solutions and securities.
The central bank's trials are distinct from the regional efforts with the digital euro. Spain is among several European countries working on local digital currency solutions while awaiting the ECB's direction on the regional solution. Central banks in France, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, and others have all initiated their own trials.
For more information about central bank digital currencies and design considerations, readers can explore nChain’s CBDC playbook and CoinGeek’s Blockchain for Beginners section for insights into blockchain technology.