By 
Spain’s central bank, Banco de España, has revealed its selected partners for the central bank digital currency (CBDC) testing initiative, a year after issuing an open call for collaboration.
In a resolution published on January 3, the central bank disclosed its partnership with Cecabank, Abanca, and Adhara Blockchain for the upcoming pilot of the wholesale CBDC. The testing phase, scheduled for the next six months, will involve simulating the processing and settlement of interbank payments. This will be facilitated using a single tokenized wholesale CBDC, as well as the exchange of various wholesale CBDCs issued by different central banks.
As part of the experiment, conducted in collaboration with the Cecabank-Abanca consortium, the wholesale CBDC will also be utilized to settle a simulated tokenized bond.
The central bank selected three companies from a pool of 24 applications received over the past year. While Cecabank and Abanca are Spanish entities, Adhara Blockchain is headquartered in the United Kingdom.
Notably, the Spanish CBDC program is distinct from the digital euro project, which would encompass all economies in the eurozone if implemented. Additionally, the Spanish Ministry of Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation announced its intention to implement the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation six months ahead of the deadline.
In a unique move, the Bank of Spain had previously outlined the nature and applications of the digital euro in a text published in October. However, a survey conducted in the same month revealed that 65% of Spaniards expressed disinterest in using the pan-European CBDC to supplement their regular payment methods.
Comments