Norges Bank continues to assess central bank digital currencies, stablecoins and tokenised bank deposits as part of its work on the payment system of the future. According to information obtained by Kaupr, this remains an internal process at the central bank and is not being described as a new phase
This is in stark contrast to the December news picture, where several financial newspapers described digital central bank money (DSP) as scrapped or dropped. Norges Bank's own wording, and Kaupr's Coverage, however, was not that the work had ended, but that there is currently no basis for introducing digital central bank money now.
According to Kaupr's experience, Norges Bank now also looks wider than just digital central bank money. The bank is considering stablecoins and tokenized bank deposits in a longer perspective, and is also planning an internal roundtable conference with industry players on stablecoins in April. It's similar to that The Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority recently invited to during Stockholm Fintech Week this week, where the aim was to recap market assessments of stablecoins and their role in the financial system.
In the Governor of Norges Bank’s annual address in February stablecoins and blockchain-based forms of money were also highlighted as developments that may have greater significance in the future. If such forms of money develop further, regulation must be reviewed and adapted to the new terrain, and authorities must also decide whether public money is needed on blockchains in the form of digital central bank money, it said.
Interest in stablecoins is strong and growing, and they are increasingly being referred to as a bridge between fiat and digital assets. Increasingly, they are also seen as a possible core component of the financial infrastructure of the future, where payment, settlement and tokenized markets can fuse more closely together.
Work on a digital euro is moving forward, now also with a clear geopolitical backdrop. In Europe, the desire for greater strategic autonomy has become an important part of the discussion, not least because many want to make themselves less dependent on US payment and technology platforms.
At the same time, many in Nordic finance, both in regulatory environments, traditional banks and among more crypto-oriented players, express concern that dollar-dominated stablecoins could weaken the role of the Norwegian, Swedish and Danish kroner in a future digital payment system.
The central question, therefore, is not whether Norges Bank has put the topic dead, but how the central bank prepares for a payment system that could look quite different in a few years.
