Sweden’s Riksbank published a report on its third phase of central bank digital currency (CBDC) trials that involved technical tests using distributed ledger technology (DLT). A key part of the trials was about the degree to which intermediaries such as payment providers and banks should be given the freedom to develop solutions based on a CBDC. Additionally, the tests involved programmable payments and cross-border payments trials already disclosed.
The Riksbank has been involved in technical tests to explore the development of a retail CBDC since 2020. However, no formal decisions regarding issuance, design, or technology have been made.
The project is now in its third phase, following a previous pilot where the central bank tested several aspects of an e-krona network environment with authorized participants. In this third stage, work has focused on investigating what an intermediated model with market participants would look like and how this could contribute to innovation in the payment market. It also involved collaborative work with Norges Bank, the Bank of Israel, and the Bank of International Settlements (BIS) on Project Icebreaker, a cross-border CBDC research project that was recently completed.
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