A financial revolution, or the same old traceable system with a new name?
The bank is hoping to reach a decision within two years , and if all the lights are flashing green it's a go and they will be the first bank in the world pulling it off.
This is as revolutionary as paper currency was 300 years ago. What does it imply for monetary and financial stability?
How should we design it: With a debit card you can recharge, a application or some other way?"
asks Deputy Governor Cecilia Skingsley.
We really have no one to look at in terms of how to design such a coin, or potential consequences. But doing nothing is not an option for us, she continues.
The Riksbank(Sweden's central bank) was the first to introduce paper banknotes in the 1660s.
Skingsley points out that "e-crown" should not replace coins and banknotes, but have a complementary function.
There are many questions that must be answered in order to introduce an electronic money, such as whether customers will have an account at the Riksbank, the money can be traced, unlike cash, and if you will be able to earn interest on the currency.
She adds, however, that the bank has no interest in contributing to crime, and that it therefore should consider to trace the money.
My thoughts on the subject at hand.
We all know that this technology exists, and we all know no central bank will add such a currency of their own without having the ability to trace each transaction.
First when i read this article in the Norwegian finance newspaper http://e24.no/ i felt joy.
But after some consideration and reflection on the subject i understand that this..this is not what we want.
We want a digital currency without a owner, a currency that doesn't fall to inflation and where every transaction is published in the public ledger.
The banks want their own wet dream, a coin which is fully traceable and controllable by them.