Security News > 2021 > April > Bank of England ponders minting 'Britcoin' to sit alongside the Pound

The Bank of England and HM Treasury have formed a Taskforce to "Coordinate the exploration of a potential UK Central Bank Digital Currency".

A Bank of England announcement quickly points out that no decision has been taken to greenlight Britcoin and omits any mention of why the time is right to ponder a digital currency.

The bank has also created a "CBDC Engagement Forum to engage senior stakeholders and gather strategic input on all non-technology aspects of CBDC." Members will be drawn from financial institutions, civil society groups, merchants, business users and consumers.

The bank has pitched Britcoin as "a new form of digital money issued by the Bank of England and for use by households and businesses" and said it would "Exist alongside cash and bank deposits, rather than replacing them."

The Register suggests the Bank of England has moved before it gets left behind.

The Bank for International Settlements' late 2020 survey [PDF] of 60 central banks found around 60 per cent were already conducting digital currency experiments or proofs of concept, up from 42 per cent in 2019.

News URL

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2021/04/20/britcoin_taskforce/