Crypto-assets, or crypto-currencies, emerged with the creation of Bitcoin in 2009. Bitcoin has no central issuer, nor are there any assets backing a Bitcoin’s value. It is a digital asset distributed on a decentralised network where transactions can take place directly between people – without intermediaries like banks or central banks. Bitcoin and other similar crypto-assets are not typically used to price goods and services, nor are they widely accepted as a means of payment in society. They can therefore generally be considered as speculative investments rather than money.

The crypto world also gave rise to the idea of tokenisation, i.e. the possibility of creating a digital representation (token) of traditional assets, such as securities or money, on a decentralised network. One advantage often attributed to tokenised assets is that they can be used to automate even very complex transactions via so-called smart contracts.

Stablecoins can be seen as an attempt to create tokenised money. The first stablecoins were issued in US dollars, i.e. their value was aiming to follow the value of the US currency, and they were used as a means of payment in crypto-trading. These stablecoins were for a long time completely unregulated or only lightly regulated, despite their close similarities to traditional regulated private money. However, in recent years many countries have introduced regulation of stablecoins. In the EU, stablecoins linked to a single national currency are regulated like e-money by the MiCA Regulation. There are currently no stablecoins in Swedish kronor. On the other hand, there are stablecoins in euros. The US regulation of stablecoins, the Genius Act, was approved in July 2025 and is expected to come into force in early 2027.^[101] See Staff memo Stablecoins could lead to better payments but risks remain (Riksbank) and Financial Stability Report 2025:2 (Riksbank). The Genius Act, like the MiCA Regulation in the EU, establishes clear rules for the issuance and use of stablecoins. The aim is to protect consumers, discourage illegal use and at the same time enable different types of operators to operate on the market. The design of the US regulatory framework has explicitly aimed at an increased international use of stablecoins issued in dollars.

The MiCA Regulation divides stablecoins into two types. The first, e-money tokens (EMTs), are stablecoins that aim to maintain a stable value in relation to a single national currency, such as the US dollar. This is the largest group of stablecoins. The second type, asset-referenced tokens (ARTs) are stablecoins that aim to maintain a stable value in relation to an asset or a basket of assets rather than a single national currency. This basket of assets can include commodities such as gold, several national currencies or other crypto-assets. E-money tokens fulfil the criteria for e-money, but asset-referenced tokens do not. The buyer of an EMT pays with money from a bank account to the issuer, who then creates and issues stablecoins of equivalent value and sends them to the buyer. The buyer can then pay with their stablecoins to a recipient who is willing to accept them as a means of payment. For stablecoins to maintain a stable value against bank money in the same currency, the issuer uses the payment to create a reserve – consisting mainly of bank deposits and government debt securities. This reserve is then used when customers want to use their claim on the issuer and redeem their stablecoins for money in bank accounts.

Stablecoins have so far had limited practical use outside the crypto world, but interest among market participants has increased recently thanks to strong political support in the United States and clearer rules in many countries, including the EU. Two possible uses for stablecoins are to make payments between countries cheaper and faster, and to serve as a means of payment for trading so-called tokenised assets, i.e. traditional assets that have been converted so that they can be traded on programmable platforms. Stablecoins can already be used as a means of payment in established payment services, such as card payments or e-commerce, in some cases. These payments are usually made via card networks such as Mastercard or Visa, and in these transactions, stablecoins are converted into traditional private money – such as money in bank accounts – before the payment is finalised.

If regulated stablecoins are used more widely in the future, they will need to function as a general means of payment, in the same way as other regulated forms of money. This means that payments with stablecoins should go through a settlement system where the conversion between stablecoins and other regulated money takes place without a loss of value, just as with payments made using traditional private money. Various market solutions are currently being developed for this. If the use of stablecoins in Swedish kronor becomes extensive, it is important that settlement takes place in central bank money.

Moreover, the public must have confidence in stablecoins as money. In addition to clear regulations, it requires stablecoins to retain a stable value, issuers to take responsibility for their customers and risks of illegal use and fraud to be minimised.