After much deliberation, the Bank of England (BOE) and the UK Treasury have ascertained that “there is a strong likelihood for an essential requirement of a digital pound in the future.” Subsequently, they are actively engaged in introducing a CBDC (Central Bank Digital Currency).
The Roadmap for the UK’s CBDC’s Expected to be Released within the Next Week
The Telegraph reported on April 4th that a joint statement from BOE Governor Andrew Bailey and Finance Minister Jeremy Hunt declared it was too soon to begin developing a digital pound infrastructure. Still, the groundwork for doing so is justified. In 2021, Rishi Sunak – then-Minister of Finance – initiated an inquiry into creating Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDCs). Last October, Treasury Secretary Andrew Griffiths expressed his belief that the UK cannot ignore CBDCs indefinitely.
This week, government sources expect to introduce a roadmap report detailing plans for creating Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC). On the 7th of this month, John Cunliffe – Deputy Governor at BOE – will be speaking to the financial industry about their progress with CBDC.
The Late 2020s Given as Estimated Time for UK’s CBDC
Over the next four months, BOE and the Ministry of Finance shall embark on a conversation with businesses, researchers in academia, and even members of the public about their thoughts concerning CBDC implementation. Though BOE stated that there won’t be any release of CBDC until sometime in the late 2020s at best, its officials are confident that they’ll have prototype versions up and running for demonstration trials no later than 2025. It is unlikely that any decision on whether to implement it will be made before then.
You might interested: Big Development in Web3 World: Amazon Recruits Web3 Experts