Recently, the central bank of Sweden Riksbank announced a test launch of the first Swedish cryptocurrency e-krona . Messages about the possible issue of "electronic krone" appeared at the end of 2016. If the plan comes true, the Bank of Sweden will become the first central bank in the world to issue such a currency.
It is noteworthy that in the second half of the 17th century, it was Riksbank that was the first in the world to issue paper notes.
According to the head of the bank Cecilia Skingsley :
“This is the same revolutionary step as the release of a paper banknote 300 years ago; if the market can use the latest technology to launch new and popular payment services, why can't Riksbank do the same? ”.
While the Bank of Sweden has not decided whether the launch of e-krona will be of a short-term or long-term nature, however, during the test, the bank's experts will decide how best to use the electronic krona in order to provide the masses with access to payment facilities guaranteed by the state.
The Riksbank initiative is largely due to a decrease in the use of cash and the number of transactions with them in Sweden. In 2016, a number of national banks, in particular, SEB, Swedbank and Nordea, the largest in the country, together with the ruling Social Democratic Party, proposed to completely withdraw from circulation the cash denominated in Swedish krona and switch to exclusively cashless payments in this currency.
According to their plan, by 2030 Sweden should become the first cashless settlement in the world. Moreover, the project of electronic kroons is supported by the majority of representatives of the banking sector and business circles.
