The UK is considering implementing a central bank digital currency (CBDC). It is not the first country to announce these types of efforts this week. The People's Bank of China (PBOC) named Bitcoin an investment alternative and revealed that it is considering issuing a digital currency called "digital yuan."
Speaking at the UK FinTech Week conference, the British finance minister Rishi Sunak told the Bank of England to consider the case of a "Britcoin," aimed to tackle some of the challenges raised by the cryptocurrencies. The move could speed up both domestic and foreign payments, as well as reduce financial stability risks.
The central bank-backed digital currency would potentially allow businesses and consumers to hold accounts directly with the bank. Sunak stated the following: "We're launching a new task force between the Treasury and the Bank of England to coordinate exploratory work on a potential central bank digital currency (CBDC)."
However, the Bank of England stated that the digital sterling wouldn't replace physical cash or existing bank accounts.
Read more about the PBOC's approach here!
Sources: reuters.com, thetimes.co.uk