Implications need to be very closely examined. Is 'long way down the road' they say
Cryptocurrency: UK Treasury considers plan for digital pound By Shiona McCallum, Technology reporter in the BBC. (Updated)
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.
'Game-changing technology'
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 developing 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.
Consumer protection
The "crypto winter", a rapid decline in the value of Bitcoin and other assets and , has intensified concerns about whether any cryptocurrency can ever be considered stable.
It also has the potential to raise many public-policy issues.
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. ... '
