Bank of England releases statement on implementation of digital currency and blockchain technology

Life in England has been turbulent in recent years, including this summer’s Brexit vote, which will completely change the way the country does business. These appear to be just the first steps in their quest to upgrade the future of business, as the Bank of England has decided to revolutionize their financial services clearing system, including using blockchain technology like Bitcoin.

Bank of England wants to be more inclusive

The Bank of England has plans to redesign their RTGS (real settlement) system. RTGS is a payment system that provides a platform for central bank currency or electronic banknotes to avoid the risk of final payment settlement. RTGS averages £500 billion per day in interbank settlement, which is equivalent to 1/3 of the UK's total GDP.

The system is also part of the economic stability and future of the UK, and the bank has been revising its proposals throughout 2016. Many users of the RTGS system say they want increased security and compatibility with other financial systems, namely switching to a distributed ledger system.

“New RTGS services will have to be able to work with the many new technologies being used by the private sector, including distributed ledger technologies, if these are to achieve widespread adoption,” the Bank of England said.

While adding blockchain technology to RTGS may seem like a reason to revolutionize the system, distributed ledgers will not be at the core of any system, including Bitcoin.

“From a financial stability perspective, the resilience characteristics of distributed ledger technology are very attractive. But this does not mean that the technology is mature enough to become a core part of the next generation of RTGS systems.”

And according to a report by RSCoin earlier this year, the Bank of England is also considering issuing its own digital currency. In their 58-page consultation report, they emphasized the potential of new digital currencies. Their remarks also indicate that these things have been determined, not just research, but more implementation.

“The Bank of England also plans to conduct research on digital currencies in the coming years. The research will analyze the impact of central bank digital currencies on economic and financial stability, including how it interacts with monetary, financial stability and fiscal policy. The research also includes how central bank digital currencies can be implemented technically.”