Bank of England and HM Treasury Announce Next Steps for UK Central Bank Digital Currency

The Bank of England and HM Treasury have announced the next steps in the development of a U.K. Central Bank Digital Currency. These include the following:

• A consultation is planned for 2022, setting out the case for a U.K. CBDC, evaluating the main issues and considering possible design features;
• If the outcome of the 2022 consultation is positive, a development phase would follow, which would involve a technical specification explaining the conceptual architecture for a CBDC and may involve testing the design of a CBDC; and
• The potential launch of a U.K. CBDC in the second half of the 2020s, if the development phase concludes that the case for a U.K. CBDC is made.

In April 2021, the BoE and HMT announced its new CBDC Taskforce, whose primary function is to oversee investigations into a U.K. CBDC. No decision has yet been made on whether to issue a U.K. CBDC.

[View source.]