Spain’s central bank, Banco de España, recently revealed its chosen collaborators for advancing their exploration into central bank digital currency (CBDC) experiments. A year following an open call for partners, the bank announced its partnership with Cecabank, Abanca, and Adhara Blockchain.
The upcoming pilot program, set to unfold over the next six months, will focus on testing wholesale CBDC functionalities. This trial aims to simulate the processing and settlement of interbank payments using a singular tokenized wholesale CBDC. Additionally, it plans to explore the exchange of multiple wholesale CBDCs issued by various central banks.
A key aspect of this experiment, in collaboration with the Cecabank-Abanca consortium, involves leveraging the wholesale CBDC to facilitate settlement for a simulated tokenized bond.
These partnerships were selected from a pool of 24 applicants that Banco de España received during the past year. While Cecabank and Abanca hail from Spain, Adhara Blockchain is headquartered in the United Kingdom.
Notably, Spain’s CBDC initiative stands independent from the broader digital euro project that aims to encompass all economies within the eurozone if executed. Simultaneously, the Spanish Ministry of Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation has announced plans to adopt the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation six months ahead of the stipulated deadline.
