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Rishi Sunak considering new ‘Britcoin’ digital currency for the UK

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Rishi Sunak has proposed the idea of ‘Britcoin’ digital currency (Getty)

The government is exploring the possibility of creating a new digital currency that Treasury chief Rishi Sunak touted as ‘Britcoin.’

The Bank of England and the Treasury announced yesterday they will work together to assess the benefits of a central bank digital currency.

It comes as cash payments are generally on the decline, partly as a result of the Covid pandemic.

The bank said the new currency, if it comes to pass, would be a new form of digital money for use by households and businesses and would exist alongside cash and bank deposits, rather than replacing them.

Digital currencies are already being explored or even implemented in several other countries, with many proponents drawing inspiration from the success of Bitcoin and other so-called cryptocurrencies.

However, digital currencies, like the one are different in a key sense as they are issued by state authorities.

‘The world is going the way of digital currencies and we have to find a place for them in the mainstream,’ said Anne Boden, founder and chief executive of app-based Starling Bank.

One of the benefits of a digital currency would be as a backup to card payments if cash payments continue to drop in the years to come – by the end of this decade, only one in 10 payments in the UK are expected to be made with traditional paper money.

A digital currency could serve as a backup to card payments (Getty)

Proponents of digital currencies also think they can provide another way for people to make purchases online.

Currently, only the Bahamas has such a currency, though China is trialing it in several cities. Sweden has indicated it could have its own digital currency by 2026, while the European Central Bank has indicated an electronic euro might be created within four years.

‘Our vision is for a more open, greener, and more technologically advanced financial services sector,’ Rishi Sunak told a fintech conference.

‘And if we can capture the extraordinary potential of technology, we’ll cement the UKs position as the world’s preeminent financial center.’

Promoting Monday’s announcement on Twitter, Sunak was brief.

‘Britcoin?,’ he posited.


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