The UK’s Treasury Department and the Bank of England announced on April 19 (local time) that they have co-founded a task force investigating the benefits and risks of the central bank digital currency (CBDC).
CBDC is a digital currency that has been issued by the central bank and has been certified as a country. What does not support this is classified as a virtual currency. The introduction of CBDC began to be considered in each country, and in October 2020, the Bahamas issued the world’s first CBDC. China is planning to make CBDC available to both domestic users as well as foreign users for the 2022 Beijing Olympics.
The UK has yet to decide whether to publish a CBDC in line with this trend. The Treasury Department and the Bank of England have announced that they have set up this task force to review the issuance of CBDCs, and will investigate the reasons, risks, and practicality of introducing CBDCs.
The Task Force is a technical forum engaged in technical aspects such as CBDC design, implementation, and operation. It is divided into participation forums engaged in all non-technical aspects, such as the role between the public and private sectors in the introduction of CBDC, and the impact of data and personal information. Selected from various financial institutions, conferences, technology companies, and industry officials.
The Task Force will be co-chaired by the Deputy Governor of the Bank of England and the Directorate of Financial Services of the Ministry of Finance, and the two agencies will also work with other UK authorities. Also, if CBDC is issued, it is not transferred to cash, but cash and digital currency are used at the same time.
The Bank of England is interested in CBDC as payment methods are innovating and cash use is declining. . Related information can be found here.