UK Announces New Central Bank Digital Currency Taskforce
On April 19, the Bank of England (BoE) and HM Treasury announced the joint creation of a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) Taskforce to explore a potential UK CBDC. A CBDC would be a new form of digital money issued by the BoE and would exist alongside cash and bank deposits to be used by households and businesses.
The CBDC Taskforce aims to:
-
coordinate exploration of the benefits and risks of a potential UK CBDC;
-
evaluate the design features necessary to display a CBDC;
-
produce a rigorous and comprehensive assessment of a potential UK CBDC; and
-
monitor international CBDC developments to ensure the UK stays at the forefront of global innovation.
The BoE also announced the creation of the following:
-
CBDC Engagement Forum to engage stakeholders and gather all non-technological information of CBDC to understand the practical challenges of the system and how it may affect public and private sectors.
-
CBDC Technology Forum to engage stakeholders and gather all technological information of CBDC to understand the technological challenges.
-
CBDC Unit to act as the BoE’s internal exploration surrounding CBDC and engage with other UK and international authorities.
