According to the economic secretary to the Treasury, members of parliament were informed that the government is exploring the introduction of a national cryptocurrency or “digital pound.”
According to Andrew Griffith, the United Kingdom is fully committed to becoming a global centre for the cryptocurrency industry.
Additionally, the government was “a long way down the road… to develop a framework for the wholesale use of stablecoins for payment purposes.”
Stablecoins are digital currencies that are intended to maintain a value that is consistent with that of conventional currencies or assets such as gold.
“Technology that completely changes the game”
According to what Mr. Griffith said before the Treasury Select Committee, a public consultation on the characteristics of a digital pound is going to be published in the coming weeks.
“I want to see us build a framework, and this is under the FSMB (Financial Services and Markets Bill), which is now being considered in Parliament,” he added. “I want to see us employ stablecoins on a wholesale level for payment reasons.”
Central banks from across the globe are either building their own digital currencies or investigating the possibility of doing so.
And Mr. Griffith shared his thoughts with the committee, saying, “It is appropriate to look to strive to embrace potentially disruptive technology, especially when we have such a robust fintech and finance industry.”
He wanted to make room for what he called a “potentially disruptive game-changing technology” that might “challenge but also turbocharge all of those financial businesses.” He stated he did this because he wanted to give the technology a chance to succeed.
Protection of the consumer
The recent “crypto winter,” which was characterised by a precipitous drop in the value of Bitcoin as well as other assets and, has heightened worries over the possibility that any cryptocurrency could ever be deemed stable.
It also has the ability to bring up a lot of different questions about public policy.
A public consultation will also be held on Britain’s first general regulatory approach to crypto assets, which is a sector that has been under increased attention in recent weeks due to concerns over the protection of consumers.
Given the United Kingdom’s “strong financial image,” Mr. Griffith told the committee that when it came to the regulation of cryptocurrencies, it was more essential to do it right than to get it done first.
He said that there will be a significant amount of lead time for this effort.
“The proper proportions”
The European Union (EU) has developed the first complete set of laws ever formulated for the purpose of regulating cryptocurrency markets.
They are scheduled to get final clearance in the following weeks, and they are scheduled to go into force in the year 2024.
Mr. Griffith said that the regulations that govern the United Kingdom may be expanded to incorporate decentralised finance, and that more openness would be beneficial to all parties involved.
During the meeting with the committee, he said that “We want the proper regime, administered in the correct manner, that has the right balances in it.”
In addition to this, he promised to organise “at least” six roundtable discussions with participants from the cryptocurrency business in order to “expose ourselves as regulators and decision makers.”
