World’s Most Cashless Place Takes Next Step Toward Digital Money
Bloomberg 52 mins ago
The central bank of Norway, where old-fashioned cash is now used less than anywhere else in the world, says it’s time to take the next step in exploring the introduction of a digital currency.
Norges Bank Governor Oystein Olsen, who in the past has seemed less enthusiastic about central bank digital currencies than his peers, says the case for looking into their feasibility now “has been strengthened.” The bank plans to spend the next two years building its knowledge of the area, and doing “experimental testing of technical solutions” to make sure it understands the “purpose and consequences” of introducing a CBDC, he said in a report published on Thursday.
Swedish Central Bank Reveals First Study of Digital Currency
Bloomberg 2 hrs ago
(Bloomberg)
The Swedes are learning that their once pioneering vision for a central bank digital currency might take a lot longer to enact than initially thought.
The Riksbank just published the results of the first phase of a pilot project into what is essentially the most advanced exploration of a post-cash era to be undertaken by a major, western economy. It says the rapid pace at which cash is disappearing presents “potential problems” that a digital currency controlled by a central bank can address.
The task is huge and Sweden’s central bank, the world’s oldest, keeps pushing back its timeline. After once suggesting it might be ready to move ahead with an e-krona by 2018, the Riksbank now says the current pilot project won’t be completed until early next year, and has even given itself room to continue trying until the end of 2026.