The progress towards a digital pound

On 7 February 2023 HM Treasury (HMT) and the Bank of England (BoE) published a joint consultation paper which sets out their analysis of the potential case for a central bank digital currency (CBDC) (ie sterling currency issued by the BoE and not the private sector) termed the “digital pound”. A technical working paper was published alongside the consultation paper which focuses on the technical requirements and design considerations and sets out an illustrative technology model that could be applied. It summarises a series of design principles relating to privacy performance security resilience extensibility and energy usage that will be applicable to the digital pound. The consultation closed for comments on 7 June 2023.

The current proposals centre around a public-private partnership which would operate as follows (referred to in the consultation as the platform model):

  • the...