The United Kingdom’s central bank, the Bank of England (BoE). is progressing with its efforts to develop a retail central bank digital currency (CBDC), commonly termed as a “digital pound.”
In an announcement, the BoE confirmed the establishment of an advisory group dedicated to the digital pound. This initiative marks the country’s move into the design phase of the CBDC. The BoE, in partnership with the UK Treasury, is actively seeking experts from various fields including finance, economics, and business, to join this Academic Advisory Group. Their goal is to harness insights from academic professionals to stimulate cross-disciplinary discussions on various facets of the retail CBDC.
Earlier in February, the UK government and the BoE commenced a public consultation on the possibility of introducing a digital pound. By June, this phase of consultation had concluded. As per sources, the BoE has charted a two-year timeframe to conduct its own experiments and design activities related to the CBDC. In addition to the academic advisory, the bank is also in the process of recruiting members for its CBDC engagement forum. This forum has been created to delve into the pragmatic challenges linked to the design, deployment, and management of a CBDC.
As the bank pushes forward with its digital currency endeavors, it has begun reaching out to stakeholders, seeking their feedback. Specifically, the BoE is keen to understand potential offline payment applications and gather insights on the requirements merchants might have from the design of a digital pound.
See original post at Coindesk.
Jack McPherrin ([email protected]) is a managing editor of StoppingSocialism.com, research editor for The Heartland Institute, and a research fellow for Heartland's Socialism Research Center. He holds an MA in International Affairs from Loyola University-Chicago, and a dual BA in Economics and History from Boston College.
