UK Treasury search for CBDC Head

GB Market Commentary 30/01/2023

by Marcus Sotiriou

Bitcoin continued its comeback over the weekend, as it rallied to a high of almost $24,000. However, this morning it has retraced all of its weekend gains, as it is now around $23,200, which aligns with the range high from the short-term range Bitcoin broke out from over the weekend. The way Bitcoin reacts at this level could be key in determining Bitcoin’s next move.

The UK are demonstrating more urgency toward launching a CBDC, as the U.K. Treasury posted a job on LinkedIn title ‘Head of Central Bank Digital Currency’.

The Bank of England will work with the Treasury team on the build out of the digital pound. This role mentioned is separate from the current head of crypto-assets and digital currencies, but will exist in the already established Payments and Fintech Team.

The posting says, "the successful candidate will be responsible for leadership of HM Treasury’s work on a potential digital pound – a U.K. central bank digital currency (CBDC)”.

This follows Bank of England Deputy Governor, Jon Cunliffe, announcing in November that the need for a digital pound has been proven with the collapse FTX.

We could see an influx of CBDCs being launched over the next 10 years. In fact, in a recent Official Monetary and Financial Institutions Forum (OMFIF) survey, two thirds of central banks said they would issue a CBDC within 10 years.

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