The Central Bank of Norway stated that there is no need to launch a digital currency at this time, and the CBDC project is temporarily "shelved."

After years of research, the Central Bank of Norway (Norway) announced that there is currently no need to issue a central bank digital currency (CBDC), citing Norway's already "efficient and secure" payment system and robust contingency mechanisms. Although Norway has one of the lowest cash usage rates globally, making digital currency discussions highly relevant, the central bank believes its current system can still meet demand. Norway Governor Ida Wolden Bache stated, "If the need arises in the future to maintain the efficiency and security of the payment system, we are ready to launch a CBDC." She also emphasized that the central bank will continue to cooperate with the financial industry and other central banks, monitoring the global development of CBDCs and digital currencies. In the Nordic region, political attitudes towards digital currencies have been relatively cautious. While Sweden initially wavered, the Swedish central bank has called for a restart of discussions on e-krona; the European Central Bank plans to launch a digital euro pilot as early as 2027, with a possible official issuance in 2029. The Norway central bank plans to release its CBDC research summary and future plans in the first quarter of next year, stating that it will not rule out the possibility of issuing a CBDC in the future, while continuing to study tokenization and various forms of digital currency. (bloomberg)