A top Bank of England official has doubled down on claims that new technologies such as digital currencies could present lucrative new opportunities for businesses.
(Bloomberg) — A top Bank of England official has doubled down on claims that new technologies such as digital currencies could present lucrative new opportunities for businesses.
Ben Broadbent, deputy governor for monetary policy, said the UK central bank’s “keenest attention” was focused on the regulatory implications of new payments technologies.
“The experience of digitalization so far is that new products and services enabled by new technologies can be adopted very rapidly at scale,” he said Monday at the start of a BOE research conference. “This obviously brings opportunities for financial institutions, for businesses, for individuals. We would expect to see continued improvements, reductions in friction and cost of payment.”
BOE and UK Treasury officials are exploring the case for a central bank digital currency, dubbed Britcoin, which would operate similar to cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin but would be backed by central bank reserves.
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