Cryptocurrency: UK Treasury considers plan for digital pound
The government is considering introducing a national cryptocurrency or "digital pound", the economic secretary to the Treasury has told MPs. The UK was committed to becoming a world crypto hub, Andrew Griffith said. And the government was "a long way down the road… to establish a regime for the wholesale use, for payment purposes, of stablecoins".
Stablecoins are designed to have a predictable value linked to traditional currencies or assets such as gold. A public consultation on the attributes of a digital pound would be launched in coming weeks, Mr Griffith told the Treasury Select Committee. "I want to see us establish a regime, and this is within the FSMB [Financial Services and Markets Bill, currently being debated in Parliament], for the wholesale use for payment purposes of stablecoins," he said. Central banks around the world ~~are~~ have develop~~ing~~ed (FIFY) or exploring digital currencies.
And Mr Griffith told the committee: "It is right to look to seek to embrace potentially disruptive technologies, particularly when we have such a strong fintech and financial sector." He wanted to allow the opportunity for this "potentially disruptive game-changing technology that can challenge but also turbocharge all of those [financial] industries", he said. And there will also be a public consultation on Britain's first general regulatory approach to crypto assets, a sector where consumer protection has come under scrutiny in recent weeks.
But the consultation will form part of a "research and exploration" phase and will help both the Bank of England and the government develop the plans over the following few years.
When it came to regulating crypto, Mr Griffith told the committee, being right was more important than being first, given the UK's "strong financial reputation". "It will be a long lead-time activity," he said.
https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-64224950
The normies love this idea cause most of them don't use cash and either pay via debit card or payment apps as to them this is just an extension of that while totally not getting what it's intended use is