The Bank of England (BoE) and the Treasury consider the UK likely to need to create a central bank digital currency (CBDC) by 2030according to a Telegraph report on February 4.
The “digital pound” roadmap will be presented next week, a government source told the newspaper. Deputy Governor Jon Cunliffe is scheduled to give an update on the Bank of England’s work on the CDBC on February 7th.
“Based on our work to date, the Bank of England and Her Majesty’s Treasury consider that a digital pound is likely to be needed in the futureGovernor Andrew Bailey and Finance Minister Jeremy Hunt told the Telegraph.
The Bank of England declined to comment on the article, but announced that a joint consultation on the digital pound will be published soon.
The UK reportedly saw a 35% decline in cash and coin payments in 2020. Cash accounts for about one in six payments; debit and credit cards, the other five. A central bank digital currency is a digital version of fiat currency, pegged to fiat reserves at a 1:1 ratiowhich allows citizens and businesses to manage funds much more efficiently and affordably.
The news comes just days after the UK Finance Department posted a vacancy for a central bank digital currency officer on LinkedIn.. The job description presented the role as “important, complex and cross-cutting,” requiring “broad engagement across and beyond Her Majesty’s Treasury.”
Digital sterling is one of many CBDCs expected to be introduced around the world in the coming years.. The European Central Bank (ECB) has been discussing the future of a digital euro, and several countries, including Sweden and Denmark, have also begun to explore the concept of digital currencies.
The pioneering CBDC, the Chinese digital yuan, launched in beta last year for local iOS and Android app stores.. The latest developments include enhancements to smart contract functionality along with a number of use cases, Cointelegraph reported.
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