HM Treasury, the UK Government’s Ministry of Economy and Treasury, is seeking a Head of Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) to lead the development of the digital pound. The work was described as “important, complex and cross-cutting” and “requires broad engagement beyond the UK Treasury”.
According to a Linkedin post, the Treasury and the Bank of England are working together through a CBDC task force to investigate the digital pound case. The role of CBDC chief could bring the UK government closer to its goal of rolling out a CBDC.
Danny Scott, CEO of UK-based Bitcoin (BTC) company Coincorner, told Cointelegraph that CBDC is “a real world use and purpose that we often see. ‘, he said.
“For those who have been in the industry for a cycle or two, we have seen the hype come and go with altcoins, blockchains, distributed ledgers, ICOs, DeFi, NFTs, etc. It seems like the big companies are lagging behind. It jumps on the latest hype to avoid looking shady, but it’s a subject of R&D and exploratory for most people, and it’s totally understandable.”
Scott, who has worked and built in the Bitcoin space for more than a decade, said the public could misunderstand R&D projects in the crypto space, perhaps confusing them with useful real-world solutions. explained.
“The CBDC (Digital Pound) is not going to go down much from this. Many countries around the world are considering this and trying to understand the benefits of this over the current system. will.”
In fact, the move towards a digital pound is in line with the trend of central banks around the world exploring CBDC possibilities. In Europe, the European Central Bank (ECB) is actively researching the future of the digital euro, and several countries such as Sweden and Denmark are also exploring their own digital currencies.
CBDCs claim to offer many benefits, including improved financial inclusion, lower costs for businesses and consumers, and increased security and efficiency of payment systems.
However, by introducing Bitcoin as legal tender, El Salvador has banked 70% of its unbanked population, and countries such as Nigeria, Ghana, and Kenya have opened mobile phones and Bitcoin exchange accounts from around the world. You can now receive money at
Moreover, the introduction of new digital currencies has potential risks. James Dewar, partner of British bitcoin merchant solution Bridge2Bitcoin and director of Laser Eyes Cards, told Cointelegraph, “The introduction of a CBDC would itself pose different challenges and risks than Bitcoin. ‘ said. Don’t abuse the money supply. ”
“This risk applies at the macro level just as it does today, but is more concerning at CBDC regarding the ability of governments or their agencies to monitor and censor individual spending. It’s a big risk to ownership.”
He asks: “We may trust one government, but do we, as citizens, trust all future governments of this power, any government of any color?” Tony Yates, former senior bank adviser to the Bank of England He has spoken out against CBDC. Echoing Dewar’s thoughts, he questioned the motivations behind the global rollout of CBDCs, calling them “dubious”.
Dewar continues: Overall, we are concerned that the process may come under political pressure to ignore or significantly downplay the risks of CBDC to society. ”
The “digital” aspect of money has also been questioned. The UK is increasingly becoming a digital cash-based society. Less than 15% of payments are made in physical cash, according to the Bank of England, and 23 million people, about a third of the UK population, don’t use cash. All in 2021.
Scott asks the Treasury, “Don’t we already have a digital pound?”
“From an end-consumer perspective, the pound is mostly digital these days, regardless of the mechanism used. So once the research phase is over, I would love to see a list of the benefits and new features that CBDC will bring to the public. I would love to see it.”
In the meantime, Scott said, “We will continue to focus on Bitcoin and creating a global interoperable system that everyone can participate in.”
Related: In the Midst of Crypto Winter, Central Banks Rethink Internal Digital Currencies
Dewar said there may be hope for Bitcoin and the UK government. “His CBDC at the Bank of England will, by design, be made available to Britons, but no official timeline has been set.
