The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC), one of the largest financial service providers in the U.S., unveiled “Project Lithium” to test infrastructure in support of a U.S. digital currency using blockchain technology. 

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Fast facts

  • Project Lithium is based on blockchain technology and will explore how a central bank digital currency (CBDC) might operate in the U.S. clearing and settlement infrastructure, the DTCC said in a statement on Tuesday.
  • The prototype “will measure the benefits of a CBDC and inform the future design of the firm’s clearing and settlement offerings,” the company said.
  • The prototype will also seek to “demonstrate direct, bilateral settlement of digital tokens in real-time delivery-versus-payment scenarios,” the company said.
  • DTCC, which provides post-trade market infrastructure to financial institutions, is working with the Digital Dollar Project, a non-profit made up of former U.S. regulators, tech leaders and executives from Accenture, and with initial funding from Accenture. 
  • The move comes just a month after President Joe Biden issued an Executive Order placing the “highest urgency” on the research and development of a U.S. CBDC. 

See related article: Biden pushes the U.S. on CBDCs in sweeping crypto executive order