Italian Banking Association pilots two wholesale CBDCs

Last year, the Italian Banking Association (ABI) announced that it would pilot wholesale central bank digital currency (wCBDC), also known as the Leonidas project, as part of the Italian banking sandbox. The association announced the results of the trial last week and declared it a success, with the main benefits being atomic transactions, transparency, and traceability of information.

The test was conducted in 2023 and was planned to take place before the announcement of the use of central bank funds for wholesale DLT trials in the European system.

Two different wholesale CBDC models were used in the trial. Participants in the trial included ABI, 16 banks, blockchain company R3, Spunta technology partner NTT Data, and the Italian Banking Innovation Center Milan Center.