UK government is considering introducing a national cryptocurrency or “digital pound”
UK Treasury will introduce a national cryptocurrency. The economic secretary to the Treasury said “The government is considering introducing a national cryptocurrency or digital pound.” Andrew Griffith mentioned that the UK was committed to becoming a world crypto hub and the UK Treasury was “a long way down the road to establishing a regime for the wholesale use, for payment purposes, of stablecoins”. Stablecoins are intended to have a predictable value linked to traditional currencies or assets such as gold.
Game-changing technology
In the upcoming weeks, a public consultation on the characteristics of a digital pound would be undertaken, Mr. Griffith said the Treasury Select Committee. In the Financial Services and Markets Bill, which is now being discussed in Parliament, he added, “I want to see us establish a regime for the wholesale use of stablecoins for payment purposes.” Global central banks are creating or researching digital currencies. “It is right to look to seek to embrace potentially disruptive technology, particularly when we have such a robust fintech and finance sector,” Mr. Griffith further stated before the committee. He wanted to allow the opportunity for this “potentially disruptive game-changing technology that can challenge but also turbocharge all of those [financial] industries”, he said.
Consumer protection
It has become more doubtful that any cryptocurrency can ever be regarded as stable due to the “crypto winter,” a sharp decrease in the value of Bitcoin and other assets. Numerous public policy issues could also be brought up by it. Additionally, there will be a consultation with the general public on Britain’s first broad regulatory approach to crypto assets, a field where consumer protection has been under fire recently. The consultation, however, will be a part of a “research and exploration” phase and will aid in the development of the plans over the coming several years by the Bank of England and the government.
