Sweden has started testing an e-krona as part of its efforts to examine the feasibility of launching a central bank digital currency (CBDC), the Riksbank announced on its website.
The central bank started the e-krona project back in 2017 as the country was moving towards becoming a cashless society.
“In the e-krona project the Riksbank has analysed the need for an e-krona. The project team has had a dialogue with several national and international agents to hear their views on an e-krona, they have looked at 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 an e-krona,” the announcement read.
The central bank said that it is conducting a pilot project aimed at developing a proposal for a technical solution for e-krona. The pilot is being carried out in collaboration with Accenture.
As per the details, the project aims to show in a test environment how an e-krona could be used by the general public. This technical solution will be based on Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT).
"The main aim of the pilot is for the Riksbank to increase its knowledge of a central bank-issued digital krona," the Riksbank said, adding that "there is currently no decision on issuing an e-krona, how an e-krona might be designed or what technology might be used."
The central bank said that it will continue to investigate how e-krona would affect the Swedish legislation and the Swedish economy.
The Riksbank has submitted a proposal to the Riksdag suggesting that e-krona needs to be investigated by the experts to which the latter has agreed.
Meanwhile, the Riksbank has teamed up with five other central banks and the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) to look into potential cases for CBDCs.
Meanwhile, the Central Bank of the Bahamas is planning to roll out CBDC in the second half of the fiscal year. The central bank launched the pilot phase of the “Project Sand Dollar” in Exuma in December 2019.
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