• The Bank of England is discussing the technology that would power the Digital Pound, whether it should be on distributed ledger technology (DLT) or a traditional payment rail.
• Privacy will be a key factor with ‘Britcoin’ being pseudonymous and not collecting personal data.
• There is still much to debate before Britcoin becomes a reality as stakeholders provide feedback until June 30.
The Digital Pound Debates
The UK is one of several countries well on their way to bring out a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC). However, there is much debate over the designation of the Digital Pound, including its underlying technology and privacy elements.
Technology Used for the Digital Pound
The Bank of England team behind the creation of the Digital Pound is debating if the coin should even operate on distributed ledger technology (DLT), such as blockchain. Tom Mutton, who heads the Bank of England’s CBDC project, said that “none of them agreed with each other at any point.“ The Bank plans to trial several different versions of ledgers, including public blockchains like those that underpin Bitcoin but are still considering utilizing traditional payment rails due to efficiency concerns.
Privacy Concerns For Britcoin
Privacy will be a key factor with ‘Britcoin’ being pseudonymous and not collecting personal data. This ensures users can remain anonymous while using Britcoin without fear of surveillance from authorities.
Feedback Deadline for Designing Britcoin
Feedback from stakeholders and technology experts on the design of the CBDC has been open since April 2021 and runs until June 30th 2021 when it will close for submissions. After this date, further decisions can be made about how Britcoin will work in practice and what technology it will run on.