UK government is exploring the arena of digital currencies. The country is considering the launch of digital currency, which the chancellor of the exchequer touted as “Britcoin”.

United Kingdom (UK) is the latest country to jump on the Crypto bandwagon. The Bank of England and the Treasury announced the plans of working together for the assessment of the benefits of digital currencies.

The chancellor of the exchequer, Rishi Sunak, elucidated plans to enhance fintech in the UK. He was speaking at Fintech week.

Cash payments are diminishing across the globe due to the coronavirus pandemic. In this scenario, digital currencies present a solution to the financial world’s problems.

The central bank is set out to bring the digital currencies at par with fiat in terms of use. However, the currency will co-exist with cash and bank deposits. It will be a new form of payment but not a replacement for existing methods.

The chancellor of the exchequer was ambitious about a ‘technologically advanced’ UK.

Our vision is for a more open, greener, and more technologically advanced financial services sector. The UK is already known for being at the forefront of innovation, but we need to go further. The steps I’ve outlined today, to boost growing fintechs, push the boundaries of digital finance and make our financial markets more efficient, will propel us forward. And if we can capture the extraordinary potential of technology, we’ll cement the UK’s position as the world’s pre-eminent financial centre.

Britcoin?

Many countries are already experimenting with the idea of digital currencies like bitcoin. The fast and open nature of cryptocurrencies speeds up transaction processing. Thus, payments reach around the world within minutes.

UK’s approach towards digital currencies is different. It will issue currencies from central banks. The crypto believers have criticised this point saying that decentralization is the essence of digital money. Therefore, the UK government is doing a poor job by introducing central banks into the picture.

Retweeting the announcement on Twitter, Sunak commented, “Britcoin?”