<p>Stefan Ingves, governor of the Riksbank, the central bank of Sweden, is one of the few officials optimistic about Facebook-led proposed stablecoin project, Libra.</p> <p>“It has been an incredibly important catalytic event to sort of shake the tree when Libra showed up out of the blue,” Ingves <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/10/15/facebook-libra-cryptocurrency-a-catalyst-for-reform-swedens-riksbank.html">told</a> CNBC in an interview on Tuesday. The governor added that Libra “forced us to think hard about what we do.”</p> <p>Ingves went on to say: “Part of my job is to produce a good/service called the Swedish krona which is convenient to use for Swedish citizens, and if I’m good at that in a technical sense then I don’t have a problem. But if I were to start issuing 20-kilo copper coins the way we did in 1668, then we soon would be out of business.”</p> <p>The use of cash (banknotes and coins) is declining in Sweden. The Riksbank, therefore, has been exploring a digital currency called <a href="https://www.riksbank.se/en-gb/payments--cash/e-krona/">e-krona</a> since 2017. But no decision has yet been taken on issuing an e-krona.<br /> <br /> Switzerland’s central bank is also <a href="https://www.theblockcrypto.com/linked/42633/swiss-central-bank-bis-working-on-a-digital-currency?utm_source=rss&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=default">exploring</a> a blockchain-based digital currency, while China's central bank digital currency <a href="https://www.theblockcrypto.com/linked/38748/chinas-digital-currency-will-be-like-facebooks-libra-says-central-bank-official">is “ready”</a> to launch later this year or early next year. </p>