A consortium of six Swiss banks has joined Switzerland’s efforts to test potential uses for a Swiss franc-pegged stablecoin in the European country, as the legacy lenders try to figure out their way in the growing stablecoin industry and the wider growth of cryptocurrencies.
“Jointly with the company Swiss Stablecoin AG, the Swiss banks are launching a secure digital live environment, a so-called sandbox, to explore ways to connect blockchain applications with the Swiss franc,” UBS said.
UBS, PostFinance, Sygnum, Raiffeisen, ZKB and BCV are part of the initiative, and places have been kept open for other participants as well.
“Right now, there is no regulated Swiss franc-pegged stablecoin with broad application in Switzerland. The sandbox will be conducted in 2026 and aims to strengthen the Swiss digital money ecosystem,” UBS added.
Lenders all over the world are seeing stablecoins (cryptocurrency designed to maintain a constant value and backed by traditional currencies) as their potential competitors, thereby putting the industry under pressure to explore and embed the usage of blockchain technology within their businesses.
While several banks have experimented with stablecoins, a new direction was provided in 2025 when United States President Donald Trump signed a law establishing regulatory guidelines for stablecoins under the GENIUS Act (Guaranteeing Essential National Infrastructure in US-Stablecoins). In December 2024, the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) came into effect, followed by Hong Kong’s Stablecoin Ordinance.
Switzerland is not the only European country to launch a stablecoin sandbox. Another group of 10 European banks, including ING, UniCredit and BNP Paribas, in 2025, formed a company to launch a euro-pegged stablecoin in the second half of 2026, to counter Uncle Sam’s dominance in digital payments.
Another separate consortium of 10 banks, including Bank of America, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs and UBS, is exploring issuing a stablecoin. While the particular cryptocurrency has witnessed a sharp usage spike in recent years, the market is still dominated by the El Salvador-based company Tether, and demand for the few bank-issued stablecoins has so far been limited.