Sweden is preparing to test the viability of the electronic crown for smart payments. Riksbank (Swedish Central Bank) tests to date have shown that offline payments via CBDC can work, but the central bank also addresses privacy issues.
Sweden's central bank says that wants to explore how the new e-koruna could stimulate "smart payments", which some believe are the future of money. The Riksbank considers tests of the integration of state-sponsored digital money into mainstream banking systems to be successful, but said it was still researching claims about the promised benefits that the new technology could bring.
Although no decision has yet been made on the form (or issue) of the electronic crown, in the next phase it is planned to test and explore these solutions, as well as to justify why it could be more effective than traditional technologies. The report describes the "successful" involvement of existing intermediaries (such as banks) in distributing the CBDC to ordinary citizens, as well as an off-line solution where the asset can be stored locally on the phone.
Since the e-crown pilot validates tokens using transaction history, more data is shared between participants than would normally be the case. In other words, it conflicts with the general EU Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). This is generally related to the ongoing debate over whether blockchain technology will help or hinder the confidentiality of users' data. Marina Niforos, a professor at HEC Paris and a leading expert in cryptocurrency technologies, said that with regard to the new digital euro:
"BLOCKCHAIN COULD FINALLY BE THE ONLY SOLUTION THAT HAS REMAINING ON THE POSSIBILITY OF INCLUDING PRIVACY PROTECTION SINCE DESIGN"
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