The project of a digital pound sterling on which the Bank of England (BoE) is working leaves the British House of Lords skeptical, which on Thursday underlines the risks created by such an innovation without seeing any concrete advantage.
Britain's upper chamber economic affairs committee says in a report it has "
still not heard a compelling argument as to why the UK needs
" a digital currency.
Read alsoThe Bank of England surprises by raising its rate
Like many monetary institutions around the world, including the European Central Bank (ECB), the BoE is exploring the possibility of issuing a digital currency, which would exist alongside cash and which individuals could use to make digitized payments without necessarily passing through. by banks.
The "
central bank digital currency
" (CBDC) project was nicknamed in the United Kingdom "
britcoin
" by the Minister of Finance.
Risks that question
For central banks, this means avoiding leaving this space to private actors (Facebook is participating in the creation of Diem, a cryptocurrency that would be modeled on the price of real currencies) or to a foreign power (the digital yuan is already in testing phase in China).
"
We recognize that this is a risk, but the introduction of a CBDC may not be a necessary or complete response
," argues the House of Lords committee.
“
Private entities that are big enough to compete with traditional payment systems can and should be regulated
,” they suggest.
Read alsoThe pressure is mounting around crypto platforms
The Chamber lists the risks it sees in this project: "
State surveillance of how people choose to spend their money, the possibility of massive withdrawals from banks to the CBDC in the event of an economic shock, a rise central bank power, and the creation of a centralized weak point that could be targeted by
digital attacks. "
If the government wants to continue
" with this project, "
Parliament should have the opportunity to vote on the final decision
," the report concludes.
BoE and ECB projects, still in the study phase, could be completed in 2025. In addition to China, digital currency projects in various forms are being tested in Sweden and South Africa.
They have already been launched in the Caribbean (Bahamas) or in Africa (Nigeria, Ghana).
