The Deputy Governor said the risks posed by stablecoins as well as decentralized and derivatives trading on unbacked assets, were enough to require a more hands-on regulatory approach.
The upper house of the U.K.’s parliament, the Lords’ Economic Affairs Committee is calling for public submissions on whether a digital pound should be adopted in the country.
Bank of England describes the new positions as geared towards “helping the team develop its priorities and exploratory work plan for CBDC.”
The taskforce will coordinate exploration of the objectives, use cases, opportunities and risks of a potential CBDC, as well as guide the evaluation of its design features, among other responsibilities.
The Bank of England will not protect commercial banks against the impact of digital currencies, according to deputy governor Sir Jon Cunliffe.
The U.K. Treasury said it was working on proposals for a new regulatory structure for stablecoins and other digital currencies.
The facility to support CBDCs is being developed as a “bolt-on” should the bank decide to roll out a digital currency in future.
The United Kingdom is working on plans that could lead to a digital currency, with the likelihood of adoption in a few years’ time.
Should central banks ultimately introduce digital currencies, they could be launched with the help of private companies.
Outgoing Gov. Mark Carney addressed the so-called risks posed by central bank digital currencies.
Sarah John urged reserve banks to move more quickly towards developing and deploying crypto payment solutions..
The U.K. central bank has teamed up with five other central banks to research CBDC use cases.
