The Riksbank is investigating whether it is possible to issue a digital complement to cash, a so-called e-krona. Just like cash, the e-krona would be issued by the Riksbank and be available to the general public.
Riksbank weighs moving forward with e-krone CBDC
The Riksbank started the e-krona project in 2017 to analyse the need for CBDC.
The project team has held a dialogue with several national and international agents to hear their views on an e-krona, reviewed proposals for suitable technology, and examined the legal issues that need to be dealt with to ensure the Riksbank has a clear mandate to issue a CBDC.
In 2020, the Riksbank entered into a more practical phase of the e-krona project. To test how an e-krona might look and function, the Riksbank started a project together with Accenture, to construct a possible technical platform for it.
The objective of the project was for the Riksbank to learn more about how a technical solution for a CBDC could work. By testing this technical solution, the Riksbank was be able to learn more about the possibilities of the solution and also to use it as a basis for comparisons with other technical solutions and models for possible.
Phase 2
In the technical tests during phase 2, the Riksbank examined issues such as offline function, performance and integration of external participants, such as a bank, into the e-krona network. The conclusions reached by the project are important for the continued work.
“In phase 3 we will begin to formulate a basis for the requirements for an e-krona if a decision is made to issue it. All the tests, analyses and investigations carried out will form a base for this work. We will also draw on experience from the rapid international development that is now taking place in this field,” says Mithra Sundberg, Head of the E-krona Division.
In addition, the project will have a dialogue with technology providers and will take input from various parties in the payment market and from the general public.
“We will also continue, to a limited extent, with some technical tests simply to learn more. We have therefore extended the agreement with Accenture as technical supplier for another year from February 2022,” says Mithra Sundberg.
The conclusions from phase 2 will be presented in a report to be published in spring 2022. No decision has yet been taken on issuing a CBDC.
Reports on the e-krona
Within the project, the Riksbank has produced three reports, in which you read about their analysis and conclusions so far.
In-depth reading about the e-krona
The journal Sveriges Riksbank Economic Review has published two special issues on the e-krona:
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