- The Digital Pound Foundation seeks to ensure the UK will not take a hostile stance towards the emerging digital money ecosystem.
- The foundation is backed by crypto heavyweights like Ripple, Avalanche, CGI Group, and others.
- The foundation claims the UK needs to adopt a digital pound to preserve its leading position in FinTech.
A number of crypto heavyweights have joined together to launch the Digital Pound Foundation (DPF). An independent non-profit organization that aims to push for a digital ecosystem in the UK.
The foundation seeks to ensure the UK government does not take a hostile stance towards the emerging digital money ecosystem — particularly towards the privately issued digital money (stablecoins). The foundation also believes the UK needs to adopt a digital pound to maintain its leading position in FinTech.
Chaired by the former vice-chairman of Barclays Bank Jeremy Wilson, the organizations would cooperate with the UK in the exploration and implementation of a CBDC, which is key to a successful transition to an “innovative, inclusive digital economy and society,” the foundation claims.
The UK: An Advanced FinTech Hub
The UK has been one of the major FinTech hubs in the world, attracting large crypto, blockchain, and FinTech projects. As per official data, the country’s FinTech sector brought about £11 billion in revenue by 2019. Further, more than 44% of the European FinTech firms valued at above $1 billion are based in the UK.
However, the Digital Pound Foundation claims that the UK needs a digital pound to remain a leader in FinTech. The foundation says it would continue to encourage the UK government to adopt an “inclusive, well-regulated, secure and transparent ecosystem that encompasses both CBDCs and privately-issued forms of digital money.”
Wilson, who also chairs The Whitechapel Think Tank, a company focused on distributed ledger technology (blockchain), said:
Technology is transforming human interaction and money must adapt to that. The world has become a global laboratory realising the benefits of a new form of money. The social ramifications of this shift will affect everyone. The Digital Pound Foundation seeks to support the UK in bringing that about for the benefit of all.
Several crypto industry giants, including Accenture, Ripple, Avalanche, CGI Group, Quant, Billon Group, and Electroneum are backing the foundation.
In mid-April, the Bank of England and HM Treasury launched a CBDC Taskforce to explore the possibility of a digital pound. “The Government and the Bank of England have not yet made a decision on whether to introduce a CBDC in the UK, and will engage widely with stakeholders on the benefits, risks and practicalities of doing so,” BoE said at the time.
More recently, the Bank of England asserted that the crypto market is not a big threat to financial stability, assuring that its risk is “limited.” “The FPC judges that direct risks to the stability of the UK financial system from cryptoassets are currently limited,” the bank said in a statement.
However, ironically, deputy governor for financial stability at the Bank of England, Jon Cunliffe, has said crypto can trigger financial stability problems. Cunliffe asked regulators to step up but cautioned them not to “overreact.”
