The Bank of England and Treasury have set out a plan to introduce a new central bank currency, including a new state-backed “digital pound” that could be launched this decade.
A consultation on the digital currency will be launched by the Bank and Treasury on Tuesday.
The new digital pound would be issued by the Bank of England and is “likely to be needed in the future” as use of cash and cards continues to change.
But the consultation and research process does not mean the central bank digital currency will definitely be issued, with the decision due to be made later.
There have been years of speculation that the currency could be considered amid the rapid growth of new digital financial formats, such as cryptocurrencies and stablecoins.
The Treasury has stressed that the potential currency is not a crypto asset, which are privately backed investments.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak asked the Bank of England to look into the case for a bank-backed currency in 2021 when he was chancellor.
In October, Mr Sunak’s Financial Services Minister Andrew Griffith warned that a long delay in issuing a digital pound could create problems for the economy.
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“While cash is here to stay, a digital pound issued and backed by the Bank of England could be a new way to pay that’s trusted, accessible and easy to use," said Chancellor Jeremy Hunt.
“That’s why we want to investigate what is possible first, whilst always making sure we protect financial stability.”
The Bank of England will conduct more research and development work while the public is invited to take part in the consultation process.
The Bank and the Treasury said the currency would not dramatically alter how British people use money.
But the they believe it could help to “ensure the public have access to safe money that is convenient to use as our everyday lives become more digital”.
The consultation is due to take about four months. It is understood that the design phase is then likely to continue until at least 2025, from which time a final decision could be made.
If it gets approval, there would then be significant investment to launch the currency, which could take place during the latter half of this decade.
The currency would be issued and held by the Bank of England, but intermediaries, such as consumer banks or other businesses, would be needed for people to spend it.
There are likely to be initial restrictions on how much of the currency any individual or business could hold.
“As the world around us and the way we pay for things becomes more digitalised, the case for a digital pound in the future continues to grow," said Andrew Bailey, Governor of the Bank of England.
“A digital pound would provide a new way to pay, help businesses, maintain trust in money and better protect financial stability.
“However, there are a number of implications that our technical work will need to carefully consider.
“This consultation and the further work the bank will now do will be the foundation for what would be a profound decision for the country on the way we use money.”
Countries around the world, including the US and China, and the eurozone, are also considering similar proposals.
“We fully support the Bank of England’s work exploring the potential benefits of a safe and stable CBDC," said Tulip Siddiq, Labour’s shadow city minister.
“This is a welcome contrast to the Conservative government’s promotion of the crypto wild west, which has put millions of people’s savings at risk.”
Farage on Muslim Brotherhood
Nigel Farage told Reform's annual conference that the party will proscribe the Muslim Brotherhood if he becomes Prime Minister.
"We will stop dangerous organisations with links to terrorism operating in our country," he said. "Quite why we've been so gutless about this – both Labour and Conservative – I don't know.
“All across the Middle East, countries have banned and proscribed the Muslim Brotherhood as a dangerous organisation. We will do the very same.”
It is 10 years since a ground-breaking report into the Muslim Brotherhood by Sir John Jenkins.
Among the former diplomat's findings was an assessment that “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” has “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
The prime minister at the time, David Cameron, who commissioned the report, said membership or association with the Muslim Brotherhood was a "possible indicator of extremism" but it would not be banned.
How to avoid crypto fraud
- Use unique usernames and passwords while enabling multi-factor authentication.
- Use an offline private key, a physical device that requires manual activation, whenever you access your wallet.
- Avoid suspicious social media ads promoting fraudulent schemes.
- Only invest in crypto projects that you fully understand.
- Critically assess whether a project’s promises or returns seem too good to be true.
- Only use reputable platforms that have a track record of strong regulatory compliance.
- Store funds in hardware wallets as opposed to online exchanges.
Dubai works towards better air quality by 2021
Dubai is on a mission to record good air quality for 90 per cent of the year – up from 86 per cent annually today – by 2021.
The municipality plans to have seven mobile air-monitoring stations by 2020 to capture more accurate data in hourly and daily trends of pollution.
These will be on the Palm Jumeirah, Al Qusais, Muhaisnah, Rashidiyah, Al Wasl, Al Quoz and Dubai Investment Park.
“It will allow real-time responding for emergency cases,” said Khaldoon Al Daraji, first environment safety officer at the municipality.
“We’re in a good position except for the cases that are out of our hands, such as sandstorms.
“Sandstorms are our main concern because the UAE is just a receiver.
“The hotspots are Iran, Saudi Arabia and southern Iraq, but we’re working hard with the region to reduce the cycle of sandstorm generation.”
Mr Al Daraji said monitoring as it stood covered 47 per cent of Dubai.
There are 12 fixed stations in the emirate, but Dubai also receives information from monitors belonging to other entities.
“There are 25 stations in total,” Mr Al Daraji said.
“We added new technology and equipment used for the first time for the detection of heavy metals.
“A hundred parameters can be detected but we want to expand it to make sure that the data captured can allow a baseline study in some areas to ensure they are well positioned.”
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