Italian Banking Association pilots two wholesale CBDCs

Last year, the Italian Banking Association (ABI) said it would pilot a wholesale central bank digital currency (wCBDC), Project Leonidas, as part of the Bank of Italy’s sandbox. The association published the results of the trial last week and declared it a success. The main benefits are atomic transactions, transparency, and information traceability. The test was conducted in 2023 and was planned before the Eurosystem announced a wholesale DLT trial using central bank funds. The trial used two different wholesale CBDC models. Meanwhile, participants in the trial included the ABI, 16 banks, blockchain company R3, Spunta technology partner NTT Data, and the Milan Center, the Bank of Italy’s innovation hub.