UK Treasury Secretary Proposes to Create "Britcoin"

A digital currency issued by a central bank can exist alongside cash and bankdeposits. The final decision on the launch of such a currency has not yet been made.

UK Treasury Secretary Rishi Sunakinvited the Bank of England to consider the creation of a "British coin". The minister announced the creation of a new working group of the Treasury and the Bank of England, which will deal with the issue of creating a central bank digital currency (CBDC).

The Bank of England, in turn, said that the digitalcurrency can become a new form of money for households and businesses, while it will not replace cash and bank deposits, but will exist with them. The regulator stressed that the final decision on the creation of the CBDC has not yet been made.

Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey previously stated thatBitcoin cannot be a stable store of value or an efficient instrument for making transactions. In his opinion, the main cryptocurrency is unsuitable for use as a payment instrument and is too risky for investors.

At the moment, the closest to the release of its owndigital currency approached China. Pilot testing of the digital yuan began in the country back in October 2020. In early April, it became known that the digital yuan could get an "expiration date", which would allow the People's Bank of China to "turn off" digital coins after a certain date, encouraging people to quickly spend money to help the economy accelerate.

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