Swiss National Bank Chair Flags Crypto Risks, Calls Bitcoin and Ether a ‘Niche Phenomenon’

November 8, 2024 Bitcoin.com

Swiss National Bank Chief Raises Concerns About Adding Bitcoin to Currency Reserves

April 27, 2024 Bitcoin.com

Swiss central bank announces plans for wholesale CBDC pilot with ‘real money’: Report

June 26, 2023 Coin Telegraph

CBDC

Thomas Jordan, head of the Swiss National Bank, announced the project at a conference in Zurich; bank still feels “prudent” about a retail CBDC, though.

The head of the Swiss National Bank (SNB) has announced that the bank will launch a wholesale central bank digital currency (wCBDC) pilot project, according to a report. Reuters quoted bank chair Thomas Jordan as saying the project would begin “soon.”

The wCBDC will be issued on the Swiss SIX digital exchange and run for a limited time, Jordan was quoted as saying at the Point Zero Forum in Zurich on June 26. The SIX Group also runs Switzerland’s largest stock exchange. Jordan said, according to the report:

"This is not just an experiment, it will be real money equivalent to bank reserves and the objective is to test real transactions with market participants."

SNB governing board member Thomas Moser told Cointelegraph last year that CBDCs could work well with decentralized finance. The SNB integrated a wCBDC into the back-office systems of five banks early last year as part of its Project Helvetia, which had previously completed a proof of concept for wCBDC.

That was a pivot from the position expressed a year prior by SNB chief economist Carlos Lenz, who said blockchain was not a suitable platform for CBDC, and the country had not intention of issuing one.

Thomas said of retail CBDC that “we are a little bit prudent at the moment,” but he did not rule out its introduction.

Swiss National Bank (SNB) to launch digital currency (CBDC) pilot - SNB's chairman https://t.co/Kc7DKIYuSA via @Reuters pic.twitter.com/HG4ZSFGkW9
— Dan Popescu (@PopescuCo) June 26, 2023

SNB governing board member Andréa Maechler, speaking at a different event from Jordan at the Point Zero Forum this year, said that the central bank does not foresee the replacement of cash in the country. Maechler said last year that SNB officials “believe the risks outweigh the benefits” in regard to a retail CBDC.

Magazine: Best and worst countries for crypto taxes — plus crypto tax tips

Several Major Central Banks Take Coordinated Action to Boost Liquidity Amidst Banking Crisis

March 20, 2023 Bitcoin.com

UBS Considers Acquiring Credit Suisse, Requests Government Backstop in Deal

March 18, 2023 Bitcoin.com

Banking crisis: What does it mean for crypto?

March 17, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Banking

In our latest Cointelegraph Report, we broke down the main events that led to the collapse of Silvergate, SVB and Signature Bank and explain what this all could mean for crypto.

Last week’s rapid collapse of Silvergate, Silicon Vallley Bank and Signature Bank have highlighted the fragility of the traditional banking sector while depriving crypto of the main fiat on-ramp points in the U.S.

Most observers agree that the collapse of SVB, like the one of Silvergate, was largely the result of unfavourable market conditions and poor risk management.

The shutdown of Signature was more controversial. According to multiple sources, the bank was not facing insolvency and had largely stabilized its capital outflow when U.S. regulators decided take over it last Sunday. Many in the crypto industry saw it as a political decision, aimed at pushing crypto out of the U.S.

Silvergate and Signature were the two main financial institutions providing banking services to crypto companies in the US: following their shutdown, it will be far more challenging for crypto companies to interact with the dollar system.

In the meantime, The collapse of SVB seemed have caused a ripple effect across the global banking sector: Credit Suisse, the second largest Swiss financial institution, is going through a severe crisis which required the Swiss Central Bank to intervene with a $54 billion lifeline.

If you want to know more about the ongoing banking crisis and how it is affecting cryptocurrencies, check out ourr latest Cointelegraph Report and don’t forget to subscribe to our YouTube channel!

On the Brink of a New Trend: Credit Suisse Receives 50 Billion Swiss Franc Bailout From Swiss National Bank

March 16, 2023 Bitcoin.com

Swiss National Bank says it would support credit Suisse if necessary

March 15, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Coin Telegraph

Swiss regulators reaffirm the soundness of the Swiss financial system, following recent concerns about Credit Suisse.

The Swiss National Bank (SNB) and the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority released a joint statement on March 15 on the stability of the Swiss banking system and Credit Suisse (CS). The problems of “certain banks in the USA” do not pose a risk for the Swiss financial system, they wrote.

The statement was reportedly produced at the request of CS. The regulators said Credit Suisse meets all capital and liquidity requirements, but “if necessary, the SNB will provide CS with liquidity.” However, CS still “meets the capital and liquidity requirements imposed on systemically important banks.” The statement acknowledges that CS has been “affected by market reactions in recent days.”

On March 14, CS Group CEO Ulrich Körner confirmed that the bank is conservatively positioned against interest rate risks. That day, the bank admitted “material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting” after its 2022 performance was the worst since the 2008 global financial crisis.

We fulfill and basically overshoot all regulatory requirements. Our capital, our liquidity basis is very strong”. Watch the full interview: https://t.co/hdfAD18JRZ pic.twitter.com/QD3wGZq2yK
— Credit Suisse (@CreditSuisse) March 15, 2023

The SBN statement comes as CS shares fell precipitously at the start of trading on March 15, losing up to 30%, and had been temporarily halted during a heavy sell-off. Trading was halted for several other European banks at the same time.

Saudi National Bank chair Ammar Al Khudairy said on the morning of March 15 the Saudi central bank would “absolutely not” provide support for CS. That bank is the largest CS shareholder with 9.8% of its stock.

European Central Bank officials have contacted banks they supervise to ask about their CS exposure, and the French finance minister would call his Swiss colleague to discuss the developments at CS. A U.S. Treasury official told the news service that it was monitoring the bank's situation.