Sweden completes the second phase of its e-krona testing1

TL; DR Breakdown

• Sweden completes the second test of its e-krona
• The digital currency will substitute cash
• More countries to conduct CBDC tests

CBDCs have become a global sensation, with more than 80% of countries worldwide looking into the currency. Sweden has announced that it has finalized the second phase testing of its central bank digital currency, the e-krona. According to a report submitted by the premier bank in the country, the digital currency can now be immersed into the country’s banking system to be used to carry out transactions according to its specifications.

e-krona will act as a substitute for cash

In the second testing phase, the developers looked into the feasibility of integrating the digital currency into the already pre-existing banking framework. The developers studied and researched the technical abilities that the currency had to make this possible. Notably, this second testing lasted over a year, with the testing first beginning in February 2021. Some of the banks that were involved in the testing include Tietoevery.

The research opened up the bank to realize that they could make the e-krona a very close substitute for the fiat currency. The bank also discovered that users of the e-krona can use the digital currency to carry out transactions anywhere. This phase also dealt with the legal aspect of the digital currency. The developers brainstormed on identifying the e-krona as a digital form of cash.

Countries continue to conduct CBDC tests

With the project going into its third testing phase, several questions have been left unanswered. The central bank of Sweden, Riksbank, has remained mum on whether it plans to issue the currency to citizens. There are also several reports claiming that the legal aspect of the e-krona has not been fully settled. However, a previous publication from the premier institution mentioned that the bank would base the e-krona on the proof of concept which will be made available by Corda.

Central Bank Digital Currencies remain one of the hottest prospects among countries looking to tap the resources of the crypto sector. With countries still looking into the possibility of making their CBDC, others have either debuted theirs or are at the final testing phase. For example, China is at its last stage of testing after conducting a series of tests on the CBDC with the recent Olympic event held in the country. The Nigerian CBDC has also pushed to the front in terms of success as it has earned a massive 95 score out of a possible 100. This score resulted from the usefulness of the digital currency across wholesale and retail CBDC groups.