Bank of England Considers Abandoning Digital Pound CBDC Project Amid Growing Opposition

Key Points

1. The Bank of England has spent £24 million on the digital pound project since 2021 but faces growing skepticism and 50,000 public consultation responses highlighting privacy concerns.

2. Governor Andrew Bailey expressed doubts about the necessity of a digital pound, preferring tokenized bank deposits over CBDCs.

3. Former Bank of England economist Neil Record criticized the project as a 'white elephant,' driven by the Bank’s financial interests rather than consumer needs.

4. The BOE is implementing restrictive measures on UK banks’ crypto exposure, limiting it to 1% of investments by 2026, and advancing regulatory frameworks for stablecoins and crypto custody services.

5. Global CBDC enthusiasm is waning, with the U.S. and South Korea halting their digital currency initiatives, while the European Central Bank continues its digital euro project.