London The British government wants to explore the viability of a digital version of the national currency, the pound. Finance Minister Rishi Sunak announced on Monday that his ministry would establish a joint working group with the UK central bank.
This is to probe the possibility of a central bank-backed digital currency, a “Britcoin,” as Sunak later tweeted, alluding to the well-known cyber currency Bitcoin. “We are creating a new working group of the Treasury and the Bank of England to coordinate the exploration of a possible central bank digital currency (CBDC),” the minister said at a finance conference.
Such a currency could be used by households and businesses and would complement but not replace cash, the Bank of England said. However, neither the government nor the central bank have made a decision on whether there will be a digital version of the British pound in the future.
With such a currency backed by the central bank, according to experts, consumers and businesses would have an account directly with the central bank.
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