Britain is looking into the
possibility of creating a digital currency that households and businesses could
use instead of cash – an initiative the finance minister dubbed “Britcoin”.
The use of cash has fallen during
the coronavirus pandemic as people try to avoid contact, and several central
banks across the world are considering whether to create digital money that
would allow online payments without going through banks.
The Bank of England and Treasury
announced Monday the creation of a Central Bank Digital Currency Taskforce to
look into a potential UK CBDC.
“A CBDC would be a new form of digital money issued by the Bank of England and for use by households and businesses,” the central bank said in a statement.
“It would exist alongside cash
and bank deposits, rather than replacing them,” it added.
Finance minister Rishi Sunak
replied to a tweet of the announcement with the question “Britcoin?” – a play
on words on the bitcoin cryptocurrency whose value has soared in recent months.
Unlike with cryptocurrencies,
which are out of the reach of state entities since they are issued in a
decentralised and encrypted system, central banks would have control over
digital money.
China is trying out its own
digital currency in a pilot programme, while European Central Bank will decide
this summer whether to move towards creating a digital euro.
The Bank of England said the CBDC
task force will use a forum to look at the “practical challenges of designing,
implementing and operating a CBDC”.
It will also consider the data
and privacy implications of a digital currency.
AFP
Click to signup for FREE news updates, latest information and hottest gists everyday
Advertise on NigerianEye.com to reach thousands of our daily users
No comments
Post a Comment
Kindly drop a comment below.
(Comments are moderated. Clean comments will be approved immediately)
Advert Enquires - Reach out to us at NigerianEye@gmail.com