Norges Bank has completed its fifth phase of central bank digital currency (CBDC) research, announcing it has no plans to proceed with either retail or wholesale issuance for the Norwegian Krone at this stage. It will publish the details of its research in due course.
“Norges Bank has concluded that introducing a central bank digital currency is currently not warranted,” said Governor Ida Wolden Bache. “The need for such a currency may, however, change in the future. We will be ready to introduce a central bank digital currency if it becomes necessary to maintain an efficient and secure payment system. We look forward to cooperating with the financial industry and other central banks on work in this area.”
The decision reflected several considerations, including the lack of off-the-shelf systems and standards. In late 2023 the central bank released results of its previous research phase, highlighting that it did not see the need for a retail CBDC. It also conducted cross border retail CBDC trials with Sweden and Israel. The latest research explored specific aspects of a retail CBDC in order to be prepared, and also explored wholesale CBDC using distributed ledger technology.
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