Bank of England could launch own Bitcoin-style currency

UK media has reported that the long-established Bank of England could issue its own cyber currency as early as this year.

UK.- The launch is likely to have a major impact on both the crypto-currency and banking sectors.

A Bank of England-issued digital currency would potentially enable customers to deposit their money directly with the central bank, cutting out the need for high street banks. Big-ticket transactions, such as buying a house, could happen in nanoseconds.

According to media reports, the bank has for the past three years been researching the concept of linking sterling with a UK government-backed crypto-currency, and last year the bank commissioned Dr. George Danezis of the University College London to devise a crypto-currency with state-assumed backing.

The reports claim that Bank of England Governor, Mark Carney, told a Treasury Select Committee before Christmas that he had held talks with other central banks about issuing a digital currency.

Carney said, “I have participated in discussions with the major central banks on this issue,” confirming that last year the Bank had used blockchain technology as a test to see if it could be used as settlements between central banks.

“The underlying technology is actually of a fair bit of interest. We are working with it at the Bank of England,” Carney reportedly said.

Media outlets specialized in cyber-currency claim that a Bank of England crypto-currency would have a big impact on the online gambling industry, considering that 40% of transactions in grey markets are currently conducted via cyber-currencies like Bitcoin.