The European Central Bank (ECB) is in the process of developing a digital euro and, according to Erik Thedéen, Sweden should therefore investigate a Swedish e-krona in order not to fall behind.
In 2029, the digital euro will most likely be introduced. And if it has major effects on payment systems in Europe, there may be reason to take that into account, and then there may be reason to be a little more advanced than we are today, he says.
Thedéen refers to the long lead times for introducing a possible e-krona.
“Unfortunate”
I have not said that we should have a digital crown, but I have said that it is good to investigate and possibly have some legislative work to be prepared.
According to Thedéen, it would be "unfortunate" if Sweden had to start from scratch if it turned out that the digital euro significantly changed payment systems in Europe.
The Riksbank has previously carried out pilot projects with a Swedish digital krona built on so-called blockchain technology. However, in the 2023 payment investigation, the investigator concluded that there was no societal need for an e-krona.
Thedéen thinks that despite this, it is time "to do something again".
The issue was investigated in practice in 2021 and 2022. Since then, for example, stablecoins have gone from nothing to being quite a big thing, not least in US dollars. Five years from now it might be a very big change. The payment system is changing very quickly now, he says.
He also believes that the geopolitical situation calls for a new investigation. However, such an investigation is not currently on the government's agenda.
Swedish interests
Minister of Financial Markets Niklas Wykman (M) says that the focus is instead on taking advantage of the interests of Swedish companies, consumers and banks in the work on the digital euro.
The e-krona is not a new discussion in Sweden, it has been around for a long time. If you want to bring it up to date right now, you have to ask yourself whether you should do it at the same time as the EU is finishing its project or whether you should give yourself the advantage of learning from that work first.
