The Federal Council of Switzerland rejected a plan for a central bank-issued digital currency, saying that such a move "would not bring any additional benefits at the moment" and would instead lead to new risks, particularly on financial stability.

The country's central bank concurred with the assessment, and will work with the Federal Council to keep on closely monitoring developments in the sector.

This comes after the country's National Council approved Dec. 13 a report exploring the opportunities and risks of introducing a cryptofranc, or e-franc. The National Council recommended that the Federal Council review the report.

The Federal Council found that the e-franc plan "cannot meet these expectations, or only partly," and that the repercussions "can be far-reaching depending on the design." "There are better solutions for most of the areas considered," the Federal Council added.