The Sveriges Riksbank reported that it started a CBDC pilot with the company Accenture in 2020.

CBDC History and Development

Sweden has had a long history of CBDC research. In November 2016, Sveriges Riksbank deputy governor Cecilia Skingsley said that the Sveriges Riksbank should issue a CBDC (referred to as the e-krona). One year later in September 2017, the Sveriges Riksbank issued a report titled, “The Riksbank’s e-krona Project.” The report concluded that because the use of cash in Sweden was in decline, a CBDC is necessary to offset private sector developments.

In 2020, the Sveriges Riksbank initiated a pilot to explore the technical requirements of a CBDC, better understand how a CBDC would work in practice, and compare a CBDC against other options. The first report issued in 2021 found that “technology gives the possibility to create uniquely identifiable e-kronor,” and that parallel networks make for robust systems, but further investigation was warranted. The second report issued in 2022 found that it is possible to integrate a CBDC into the existing banking system and have the capability to issue offline payments. The third report issued in 2023 found that it would be possible to implement programmable payments and smart contracts.

The Sveriges Riksbank has also been working with the Bank for International Settlements on a project (referred to as Project Icebreaker) to test the cross-border transactions with CBDCs. This project explored how to integrate different CBDC systems and conduct foreign exchange by creating a single, central hub for exchange.

Despite all of this work, the Sveriges Riksbank has said, “Whether or not to introduce an e-krona in Sweden is ultimately a political decision.” As it currently stands, the Sveriges Riksbank noted that a recent report said, “It is the inquiry’s assessment that there is currently insufficient social need for the Riksbank to issue a central bank digital currency in the form of an e-krona.”

In 2023, the Sveriges Riksbank announced that it would continue to investigate the effects of issuing a CBDC in Sweden, test technical solutions, investigate the legal changes that might be needed to issue a CBDC, meet with stakeholders, perform user studies, and follow international developments.

In 2024, the Sveriges Riksbank concluded the fourth testing phase of its CBDC noting that offline capability “requires a lot of development work.” As it is currently envisioned, “The actual e-kronas issued by the Riksbank never leave the online system and only change hands when the payment instruments are synchronized. The solution thus differs from the offline solution tested by the Riksbank in phase 2, which was token-based and instead involved moving copies of the e-krona to the payment instrument.”

Human Rights and Civil Liberties Concerns

Sweden earned a 100 out of 100 in Freedom House’s 2023 Freedom in the World report. As such, there were no direct concerns related to the use of a CBDC. Furthermore, it must be said that the ability of the Swedish government to abuse a CBDC directly is debatable because the CBDC used in Sweden could either be provided by the Sveriges Riksbank or the European Central Bank—representing the European Union. Even then, however, it’s important to recognize that the creation of a CBDC could open the door to risks to financial privacy and financial freedom.

For additional information on concerns regarding violations of human rights and civil liberties, see the following reports by Amnesty International, Financial Tyranny Index, Freedom House, Human Rights Watch, Privacy International, and the U.S. Department of State. For additional information on concerns regarding the risks of CBDCs, see the following webpage and report by the Cato Institute: The Risks of CBDCs and Central Bank Digital Currency: Assessing the Risks and Dispelling the Myths.

For additional information regarding metrics, the methodology page explains each of the data points and provides their respective sources.