Sweden's Riksbank Pushes for Digital Krona as ECB Digital Euro Plans Advance

Sweden's Riksbank has recommended that lawmakers begin preparing legislation for a potential digital krona, reversing its earlier position amid growing concerns over foreign-currency stablecoins and the European Central Bank's advancing digital euro project. In an Oct. 7 letter to parliament's Finance Committee, published Thursday, the central bank argued that Sweden's payment system could lose competitiveness without a domestic central bank digital currency (CBDC) to match the ECB's planned offering.

The Riksbank's letter specifically pointed to the ECB's digital euro pilot scheduled for 2027 and a possible public launch by 2029 as catalysts for reconsidering a Swedish CBDC — a shift from a 2023 government inquiry that found insufficient need for one. The central bank also flagged the rising adoption of US dollar-pegged stablecoins as a longer-term risk to the krona's domestic use, though it characterized near-term exposure as limited. "If stablecoins pegged to foreign currencies are considered attractive as a means of payment, the use of the Swedish krona could come under pressure even within Sweden's borders," the letter stated.

Officials estimate that developing and deploying a digital krona would require at least five years, not including the legislative groundwork. For that reason, the Riksbank is urging parliament to begin legal preparations immediately, even if Sweden ultimately opts against issuing a CBDC. The announcement comes as eurozone stablecoin activity also intensifies, with AllUnity recently debuting SEKAU, a fully reserved Swedish krona-pegged stablecoin. The Riksbank's renewed push highlights how rapidly the global CBDC landscape is shifting as central banks reassess digital currency strategies in response to private-sector innovations.