UK Parliament’s House of Lords Launches CBDC Inquiry

The House of Lords Economic Affairs Committee has launched an inquiry into central bank digital currencies (CBDCs).

The upper house of the U.K. parliament is inviting responses on issues surrounding how a CBDC might affect the role of the Bank of England, monetary policy and the financial sector.
In a statement, Lord Michael Forsyth of Drumlean, the committee’s chairman, said the government and Bank of England must “carefully consider the implications of creating a new, state-backed, form of digital cash.”
Among the many questions it posed, the committee is seeking thoughts on the main benefits and risks or CBDCs and traceability and privacy issues.
The deadline for responses is Oct. 15.
In April, the Bank of England and Treasury announced the launch of a task force to explore a potential CBDC.

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Jamie Crawley

Jamie Crawley is a CoinDesk news reporter based in London.

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