Estcoin
Estonian proposed cryptocurrency
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Estcoin was a 2017 proposal for a national cryptocurrency tied to Estonia's e-residency program.[1][2][3][4][5] The plan was criticized by the European Central Bank President Mario Draghi, who said "no member state can introduce its own currency".[6] In 2018, the Estonian government clarified it was not planning to launch a national cryptocurrency and that it never planned to do so, but would plan to "explore various possibilities" for blockchain technology.[7]
History
Discussions about Estcoin emerged in 2017 amid the rapid growth of cryptocurrencies and initial coin offerings (ICOs). The concept was raised in connection with Estonia's e-Residency programme, which had attracted a growing international user base and prompted debate about the use of blockchain-based tokens in public digital services.[8][9]
Early commentary described Estcoin as a proposed blockchain-based token linked to digital identity or participation in the e-Residency ecosystem, rather than as a sovereign currency.[10] The proposal received international media attention during broader debates over government experimentation with blockchain technology in the late 2010s.[11][12][13]
Proposed uses
In 2017, commentary on Estcoin outlined several hypothetical use cases linked to Estonia's digital governance infrastructure and e-Residency programme.[14][15] These proposals focused on non-monetary applications, including incentives for participation in the e-Residency ecosystem, access to digital public services, and regulated fundraising mechanisms inspired by initial coin offerings (ICOs).[16][17]
