According to CryptoPotato, the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) and the central banks of France, Singapore, and Switzerland have announced the successful completion of a new central bank digital currency (CBDC) initiative called Project Mariana. The project tested cross-border trading and settlement of wholesale central bank digital currencies (wCBDCs) between financial institutions, leveraging Decentralized Finance (DeFi) technology on a public blockchain.

The collaboration between BIS Innovation Hub centers in Switzerland, Singapore, and the Eurosystem, together with 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 explored crucial aspects such as establishing a standardized technical token and creating bridges to facilitate seamless wCBDC transfers, as well as the Automated Market Maker (AMM) concept for automatic pricing and execution of spot FX transactions.

Project Mariana's architecture balances central banks' domestic need for oversight and the interest of financial institutions to hold, transfer, and settle wCBDC across borders efficiently. However, this is still an experimental phase, and BIS intends to investigate further the opportunities and obstacles tied to CBDC and its associated technologies in collaboration with its partners. The project is seen as a cornerstone in improving cross-border payments and will likely feature at the Banque de France conference on Oct. 3.