The Bank of England, the central bank of the United Kingdom, is advertising job openings for a team dedicated to the exploration of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs).
The news comes a week after the Bank of England, together with HM Treasury, announced the creation of a joint task force to assess the possibility of launching a digital pound – a type of CBDC which has already been dubbed the “Britcoin” by commentators.
Earlier this week, the U.K. central bank posted job ads for four analyst roles, two architect roles and one senior management position – all related to CBDCs.
Fintech-focused employees at the central bank have highlighted the team job postings on LinkedIn in the past day. A request for comment was not returned by press time.
A description of what the managerial entails states that the BoE is “actively exploring whether it should develop and issue a CBDC,” but adds that no decision had yet been made on whether a CBDC is needed in the U.K.
The analysis set to be undertaken by the new team, once in place, will focus on monetary policy and financial stability risks and opportunities; use cases; collaboration with other central banks; public policy issues; design and feature considerations, with usage by consumers and merchants front of mind; and technology design choices.
In other countries, the CBDC era has already begun. In October, the Central Bank of The Bahamas launched its digital Sand Dollar. Last month, the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank launched a digital currency called DCash.
China is perhaps leading the pack among major economies, having already conducted significant testing of its digital yuan. The People's Bank of China is also mulling whether to make the digital currency available to foreign visitors during the Beijing Winter Olympics in 2022.
Written by Ryan Weeks