UK Plans To Launch Its Own Digital Currency

Uploaded on 2021-04-30 in GOVERNMENT-National, FREE TO VIEW, BUSINESS-Services-Financial, TECHNOLOGY-Key Areas-Blockchain

The Bank of England and HM Treasury have recently announced the creation of a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) Taskforce to develop the UK own CBDC. The initial task is to review the risks and opportunities involved in creating a new kind of digital currency. “We’re launching a new taskforce between the Treasury and the Bank of England to coordinate exploratory work on a potential central bank digital currency,” UK Finance Minister Rishi Sunak said at a fintech industry conference.

Britain is the latest nation to begin testing out the idea of a central bank-issued blockchain digital currency, which to date have largely been focused on a substitute for cash in circulation rather than saving deposits. A CBDC would be a new form of digital money issued by the Bank of England and for use by households and businesses. It would exist alongside cash and bank deposits, rather than replacing them.

The group will consult with stakeholders to explore how viable launching a CBDC would be, as well as how this is being handled abroad. “Our vision is for a more open, greener, and more technologically advanced financial services sector,” said the chancellor Rishi Sunak. “The UK is already known for being at the forefront of innovation, but we need to go further. 
“The steps I’ve outlined today, to boost growing fintechs, push the boundaries of digital finance and make our financial markets more efficient, will propel us forward. And if we can capture the extraordinary potential of technology, we’ll cement the UK’s position as the world’s pre-eminent financial centre.”

The Bank of England has also announced it will establish a CBDC Unit. This new division of the Bank of England will lead its internal exploration around CBDC. It will also lead the Bank’s external engagement on CBDC, including with other UK and international authorities. The Deputy Governor for Financial Stability, Jon Cunliffe, will oversee the work of the CBDC Unit.
Fintech firms will also be offered a ‘scale box’, which is a package of measures designed to guide these companies scale-up. This comes alongside a ‘scale up’ visa stream to allow skilled people a route to work at a recognised UK scale-up without the need for sponsorship.

CBDCs leverage blockchain-based accounting techniques but, being backed by a central bank, the currency would not display the price volatility of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin. 

Bank of England:      ITPro:        ZDNet:     NBC:        BBC:     Image: Unsplash

You Might Also Read: 

Standing On The Cryptocurrency Frontier:

 

« Why Kubernetes Is The Future Of Cloud Computing
Is Ethical Hacking A Business Necessity In 2021? »

Infosecurity Europe
CyberSecurity Jobsite
Perimeter 81
Cyrin

Real Attacks. Real Tools. Real Scenarios.
Schedule a demo

Sign Up: Cyber Security Intelligence Newsletter

Directory of Suppliers

The PC Support Group

The PC Support Group

A partnership with The PC Support Group delivers improved productivity, reduced costs and protects your business through exceptional IT, telecoms and cybersecurity services.

Alvacomm

Alvacomm

Alvacomm offers holistic VIP cybersecurity services, providing comprehensive protection against cyber threats. Our solutions include risk assessment, threat detection, incident response.

Authentic8

Authentic8

Authentic8 transforms how organizations secure and control the use of the web with Silo, its patented cloud browser.

Syxsense

Syxsense

Syxsense brings together endpoint management and security for greater efficiency and collaboration between IT management and security teams.

Infosecurity Europe, 3-5 June 2025, ExCel London

Infosecurity Europe, 3-5 June 2025, ExCel London

This year, Infosecurity Europe marks 30 years of bringing the global cybersecurity community together to further our joint mission of Building a Safer Cyber World.

Information Security Systems (ISSCOM)

Information Security Systems (ISSCOM)

ISSCOM provide services to help companies implement Information Security Management Systems (ISMS) by providing consultancy and hands-on assistance.

Eden Legal

Eden Legal

Eden Legal provides legal services on commercial and regulatory issues affecting digital businesses.

Coro Cybersecurity

Coro Cybersecurity

Coro (formerly Coronet) empowers organizations to protect against malware, ransomware, phishing, and botnets - across devices, users, and cloud applications.

GuidePoint Security

GuidePoint Security

GuidePoint Security provide information security solutions that enable commercial and federal organizations to more successfully achieve their security and business goals.

Cybersecurity Collaborative

Cybersecurity Collaborative

CyberSecurity Collaborative is a forum for CISOs to share information that will collectively make us stronger, and better equipped to protect our enterprises from those seeking to damage them.

Seltek Technology Solutions

Seltek Technology Solutions

Seltek provides Digital Forensics, eDiscovery, Cybersecurity Assessments and IT Support services.

IT Security Jobs

IT Security Jobs

IT Security Jobs is a dedicated portal for everything related to IT professionals looking for IT Security jobs.

Panorays

Panorays

Panorays automates third-party security lifecycle management. It is a SaaS-based platform, with no installation needed.

Avertium

Avertium

Avertium is the managed security and consulting provider that companies turn to when they want more than check-the-box cybersecurity.

K2 Cyber Security

K2 Cyber Security

K2 Cyber Security delivers the Next Generation Application Workload Protection Platform to secure web applications and container workloads against sophisticated attacks.

Spamhaus

Spamhaus

Spamhaus is the world leader in supplying realtime highly accurate threat intelligence to the Internet's major networks.

Antares NetlogiX

Antares NetlogiX

Antares Netlogix are a leading Austrian service provider for IT security, critical infrastructures and managed security services.

SafeStack Academy

SafeStack Academy

SafeStack Academy is an online cyber security and privacy education platform. Our content is designed by experts to suit small businesses, growing companies, and development teams.

Legit Security

Legit Security

Legit Security's mission is to secure every organization's software factory by protecting the pipelines, infrastructure, code and people for faster and more secure software releases.

BARR Advisory

BARR Advisory

At BARR Advisory, we build trust through cyber resilience. We help protect the world’s data, people, and information networks through a human-first approach to cybersecurity and compliance.

Arcfield

Arcfield

Arcfield protects the nation and its allies through innovations in systems engineering and integration, space and mission launch assurance, cybersecurity, and missile support.