“The franc needs a digital counterpart.” The phrase appears in the caption of the article published on 28 September 2026 on ETH News, written by Markus Gross (Corporate Communications at ETH Zurich). The text relays the analysis of researchers at ETH Zurich's KOF Swiss Economic Institute: for the franc to remain widely usable on tomorrow's financial markets, attractive digital solutions in Swiss francs would be needed, such as stablecoins and tokenised bank deposits.
What are we talking about
The article starts from an observation: money is becoming increasingly digital and “tokenised”. But new forms of digital money are emerging that go further than traditional bank deposits. ETH cites three:
- stablecoins, whose value is designed to remain as stable as possible;
- central bank digital currency;
- tokenised bank deposits, i.e. deposits represented as digital tokens, stored and transferred on a blockchain.
According to the article, these technologies open up possibilities that have so far been limited: payments 24 hours a day, the automated execution of contracts and cross-border transactions without long chains of banks and other intermediaries. For Hans Gersbach, professor of macroeconomics and co-director of KOF at ETH Zurich, the key question is in what form money will be organised and made available in the future, and what role states, banks and technology companies can and should play in it.
Stablecoins, also a geopolitical issue
The article describes stablecoins as digital currencies issued by private players, whose value is pegged to an existing currency, such as the dollar or the euro. Unlike crypto-assets such as bitcoin, their value is not supposed to fluctuate. They enable payments within the crypto ecosystem, can facilitate international transactions and make programmable payments possible via smart contracts, self-executing programs on a blockchain.
According to ETH, stablecoins do not yet play a very important role in the global financial system. But that could change quickly: if major technology and payment platforms such as Alipay or Apple Pay, credit card issuers and tech giants were to integrate these digital currencies directly, they could reach a broad audience and be used by billions of people. The article presents this scenario in the conditional.
The United States, the text continues, views the development of stablecoins favourably, for technological but also geopolitical reasons: dollar-backed stablecoins can strengthen the international weight of the US currency while increasing demand for US Treasury bills. “The United States also sees stablecoins as a potential instrument for securing the dollar's position as an international anchor and reserve currency,” explains Hans Gersbach.
The risk of a shift towards the dollar or the euro
Hence the question facing Switzerland: how can it ensure that the franc continues to play a central role in tomorrow's financial infrastructure? “Switzerland must ensure that, in a financial system based on tokenised money, reliable payment instruments are available in Swiss francs,” says Hans Gersbach. “Otherwise, essential parts of the financial market infrastructure risk shifting to the dollar or the euro.”
To achieve this, the article considers a clear legal framework necessary, one that specifies:
- the reserves permitted for stablecoins;
- the rights of users;
- transparency requirements for issuers;
- what happens in the event of insolvency.
All without stifling the innovative capacity of private players.
Tokenised deposits as an alternative
Hans Gersbach sees the modernisation of existing bank deposits as an alternative to stablecoins. With tokenised deposits, holdings remain, as in a current bank account, claims on a bank, but they are stored and represented as digital tokens on programmable platforms. According to the article, this approach makes it possible to take advantage of many of the benefits of new technologies without giving up the proven structure of the current monetary system.
Fundamentally, the economist says he is convinced that people will continue to pay in francs in Switzerland. “The only open question is in what technical form we will use them.”
What the article does not say
The article raises the question of the stability of money in a digital world, but does not go into detail on the effects on monetary policy. It does not mention the Swiss National Bank, cites no concrete franc stablecoin project, sets no timetable and puts no figure on either the stablecoin market or the franc's share. The source does not decide between stablecoins and tokenised deposits, which are presented as two options. Nothing in this text constitutes an investment recommendation.
A conference and an interview to follow
The ETH News article states that it is based on an interview announced for the KOF Insights Magazine of 30 September. That day, from 15h to 19h, KOF had scheduled its 2026 forecasting conference, “Money in transition: how geopolitics and technology are shaping the future”, at the UBS Grünenhof conference centre in Zurich. On the programme, according to the announcement: the Swiss economy and the future of money, with experts from academia, finance and monetary policy.