News about digital currency

The Riksbank formally asked Swedish lawmakers, in a communication published on October 15, 2026 and dated October 7, to begin preparatory work on legislation enabling a digital krona, while stating it has not taken a position on issuance. It cites deteriorating geopolitics, hybrid threats including cyberattacks, and the fact that roughly 95% of Sweden's financial sector is privately run, along with the European Central Bank's digital euro, which is planned for a pilot in the second half of 2027 and a possible launch in 2029 serving around 350 million people. The central bank judges the near-term risk from foreign-currency stablecoins to krona demand as limited, though not negligible over the longer term. Because technical preparation would take at least five years, it argues a public inquiry should start now, possibly leveraging the ECB's digital euro infrastructure, with the final decision resting with the Riksdag.