Cryptocurrency: UK planning to create its own coin
As governments across the world continue to study the essence and rise of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, the latest country to decide on creating its own digital coin is the United Kingdom.
The new British cryptocurrency will be funded by the government and used by individuals and companies to transact, but the UK government has stated that it will not replace cash as a form of payment.
Rishi Sunak, the country’s finance minister, coined the term “Bitcoin” to describe the upcoming cryptocurrency, which has a similar sound to the most common cryptocurrency, Bitcoin.
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The Central Bank Digital Currency Taskforce was formed by the Bank of England and the Treasury to conduct research into the country’s cryptocurrency, as the UK aspires to join other central banks in getting cryptocurrency backed by the government.
The central bank said in a statement on Monday, April 19, 2021, that a CBDC will be a new type of digital money issued by the Bank of England and intended for use by households and businesses.
“It will remain alongside cash and bank deposits, rather than replacing them,” the apex bank added.
Apart from the United Kingdom, Ripples Nigeria previously announced that China is proposing a variety of regulations for dealing with bitcoin and cryptocurrency as an investment and payment alternative.
The Asian country is also preparing to issue its own cryptocurrency and has prohibited digital asset exchanges from selling bitcoin and other digital coins, but allows for peer-to-peer transactions.
