Digital pound – The Chancellor announced the Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) Taskforce

The Taskforce brings together HM Treasury and the Bank of England, to coordinate the exploration of a potential UK CBDC.

„The purpose of the Taskforce is to ensure a strategic approach to, and to promote close
coordination between, the UK authorities as they explore CBDC, in line with their statutory
objectives.” according to the press release.

This is grounded in the following functions:

1. Coordinate exploration of the objectives, use cases, opportunities and risks of a
   potential UK CBDC.
2. Guide evaluation of the design features a CBDC must display to achieve our goals.
3. Support a rigorous, coherent and comprehensive assessment of the overall case for a
   UK CBDC.
4. Monitor international CBDC developments to ensure the UK remains at the forefront
   of global innovation.

The Taskforce is co-chaired by the Deputy Governor of the Bank of England, Jon Cunliffe, and
HM Treasury’s Second Permanent Secretary, Charles Roxburgh. Full membership of the
Taskforce will be limited to relevant individuals from the Bank of England and HM Treasury.
Other UK authorities will be involved in the Taskforce’s work on CBDC as appropriate, and
will be invited to meetings when relevant. The Bank of England and HMT Treasury will jointly
provide secretariat duties.

The responsibilities of the CBDC Taskforce – here

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The Government and the Bank of England have not yet made a decision on whether to
introduce a CBDC in the UK, and will engage widely with stakeholders on the benefits, risks
and practicalities of doing so. A CBDC would be a new form of money that would exist
alongside cash and bank deposits, rather than replacing them; the Government recognises
that cash remains important to millions of people across the UK, and has committed to
legislating to protect access to cash.