Sweden to spend next two years reviewing the potential launch of a digital krona, official says

Sweden’s financial markets minister Per Bolund said the government will launch a review of the practicality of the e-Krona, according to Bloomberg.

Anna Kinberg Batra, former chairwoman of the Riksbank’s finance committee, will reportedly lead the review. The review is slated to end in November 2022. 

Cash use in Sweden dropped to record lows in October of this year, according to the Riksbank, with the pandemic spurring the transition away from physical cash. Circulating cash as a percentage of Sweden’s GDP is now 1% compared to 4% in 2004, according to research from The Block. 

Riksbank started looking into e-krona in 2017, stating the digital currency had the potential to combat issues cash’s decline in the payment market would have.

In February, Sweden partnered with the consulting giant Accenture to create a pilot project investigating how the general public can use e-krona. This pilot project is set to run till February of 2021.