Her Majesty’s Treasury and the Bank of England have revealed the establishment of a central bank digital currency (CBDC) taskforce. According to the announcement, the group’s purpose aims to explore a potential UK CBDC.
UK Entities Invoke a CBDC Taskforce to Explore a Central Bank-Issued Digital Currency
Central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) have been popping up throughout a number of countries and most are still in the exploration phase. A few countries like Venezuela, Sweden, and China are ahead of the game by a longshot in comparison to countries like the U.S., Canada, and the United Kingdom. On Monday, the HM Treasury and the Bank of England (BoE) published an announcement indicating that it plans to join the CBDC race.
The two UK entities have established a CBDC taskforce as the Exchequer says the group will be dedicated to “the exploration of a potential UK CBDC.” The press release wants the public to know that bureaucrats and the BoE have “not yet made a decision on whether to introduce a CBDC in the UK.” However, the taskforce is meant to strategically approach the idea and “promote close coordination” between officials exploring a UK-based CBDC.
The CBDC taskforce will be co-chaired by Jon Cunliffe the Deputy Governor of the Bank of England and Katharine Braddick the HM Treasury’s Director General of Financial Services. “Full membership of the taskforce will be limited to relevant individuals from the Bank of England and HM Treasury,” the announcement details. “Other UK authorities will be involved in the taskforce’s work on CBDC as appropriate, and will be invited to meetings when relevant. The Bank of England and HM Treasury will jointly provide secretariat duties,” the Exchequer’s announcement notes.
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