Editing Cash (section)

===Digital and virtual currencies===
{{Main|Digital currency|Virtual currency}}
[[Digital currency]] is a generic term for various approaches to support secure transactions of the public or using a [[distributed ledger]], like [[blockchain]], as a new technology for decentralized asset management. The blockchain 1.0 era has enabled the application of virtual digital currencies in the marketplace, such as money transfer and payment systems.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Pan |first1=Xiongfeng |last2=Pan |first2=Xianyou |last3=Song |first3=Malin |last4=Ai |first4=Bowei |last5=Ming |first5=Yang |date=2020-06-01 |title=Blockchain technology and enterprise operational capabilities: An empirical test |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0268401219301471 |journal=International Journal of Information Management |language=en |volume=52 |pages=101946 |doi=10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2019.05.002 |s2cid=182010891 |issn=0268-4012}}</ref> It considers establishing an electronic version of the national currency which is backed by the central bank as the issuer. [[Virtual currency]] is a digital representation of value that is neither issued by a central bank or a public authority, such as [[Bitcoin]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://eba.europa.eu/documents/10180/657547/EBA-Op-2014-08+Opinion+on+Virtual+Currencies.pdf|title=EBA Opinion on 'virtual currencies'|date=4 July 2014|access-date=11 July 2019|website=[[European Banking Authority]]}}</ref> Facebook's concept for the [[Diem (digital currency)|diem]] is based on a token to be backed by financial assets such as a basket of national currencies. 

In 2012, [[Bank of Canada]] was considering introducing digital currency.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2402982,00.asp | work=PC Magazine | first=Adario | last=Strange | title=Canada Asks Developers to Create Digital Currency | date=13 April 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author=Randy Boswell |date=6 April 2012 |title=Canada unveils digital currency |url=https://montrealgazette.com/business/Canada+unveils+digital+currency/6419676/story.html |work=The Gazette |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120410222104/http://www.montrealgazette.com/business/Canada%2Bunveils%2Bdigital%2Bcurrency/6419676/story.html |archive-date=10 April 2012 }}</ref> Meanwhile, it rates digital currency a fairly complicated decision and is analyzing the pros and cons and working to determine under which conditions it may make sense to, one day, issue a digital currency. As a threat, a central bank digital currency could increase the risk of a run on the banking system.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bankofcanada.ca/2019/04/the-road-to-digital-money/|title=The Road to Digital Money. From beaver pelts to paper money to digital currencies|date=1 April 2019|access-date=11 July 2019|website=Bank of Canada}}</ref>

Also in 2012, [[Sveriges Riksbank]], the central bank of Sweden, was reported to analyze technological advances with regard to electronic money and payment methods for digital currency as an alternative to cash.<ref>{{cite web|author=Malin Rising |url=https://news.yahoo.com/sweden-cash-king-no-more-082544562.html |title=In Sweden, cash is king no more – Yahoo! News |publisher=News.yahoo.com |date=17 March 2012 |access-date=15 August 2012}}</ref> In 2019, it is investigating whether [[Swedish krona]] need to be made available in electronic form, the so-called e-krona, and if so, how it would affect Swedish legislation and the Riksbank's task. It has started procuring a technical supplier to develop and test solutions for a potential future e-krona. No decisions have yet been taken on issuing an e-krona.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.riksbank.se/en-gb/payments--cash/e-krona/|title=E-krona|date=19 June 2019|access-date=11 July 2019|website=Sveriges Riksbank}}</ref>