Talk with Pascale Bruderer, Founder and President of the Board of Directors of Swiss Stablecoin Ltd (SSC)

Last year, you tested the practicality of your digital franc. What were the results?

We clarified many technical issues to specify the design and tested processes. Our focus is on public blockchain technologies, interoperability, and environmental and economic sustainability. The Digital Swiss franc (CHFD), initially a token on the Ethereum blockchain, will gradually be available on multiple technologies.

Private Swiss franc stablecoins are already in circulation. What’s your strategy to create network effects and promote the use of your CHFD among the population?

Trust is crucial for acceptance. This requires technical security, sound regulation, and full collateralization for sustainable value stability. But that’s not all! Strong partnerships with Swiss-based companies in the financial sector and the real economy are also key factors.

A consortium of banks under the umbrella of the Swiss Bankers Association is planning a tokenized book money. How big is the risk of going it alone?

It’s important not to go it alone and to use synergies when it comes to a widely accessible digital franc. Since we launched the project two years ago, interest from banks has grown considerably. I’m pleased with the Bankers Association’s conceptual thinking and am curious to see where it goes from here. Our doors are open. SSC wants to be a catalyst and make an active contribution. It needs to be thoroughly clarified, yes, but it also needs to be implemented. Once again, broad partnerships are absolutely crucial.

And this in a small country like Switzerland with many established electronic payment methods.

That’s true. But why are 92% of the world’s central banks working to digitize their cur­rencies, even in regions like the EU, which have well-developed traditional payment infrastructures? Because new technologies enable innovative applications and efficiencies through direct connectivity and the immediacy of transactions. We're well advised to create an offering that complements the established account-to-account payment infrastructure.

Monetary sovereignty lies with central banks. You often emphasize the importance of a digital franc for national monetary sovereignty. Why should your startup care?

The availability of a digital franc is a question of both innovation and monetary sovereignty. As an entrepreneur, former politician, and citizen, this is close to my heart. Our currency is attractive, and we shouldn’t leave it to foreign stablecoin providers. If the Swiss National Bank opposes a retail CBDC for regulatory policy reasons, that’s to be accepted. Nevertheless, we should join forces in our country to create our own offering: regulated, sovereign, from Switzerland and for Switzerland. This is what we’re committed to.