The results of a contempo survey undertaken by Redfield & Wilton Strategies on behalf of Politico suggest that a plurality of the British developed population concord visceral concerns surrounding a Bank of England (BOE)-issued cardinal bank digital currency (CBDC).

The two,500 British adults surveyed in the study in early August expressed doubts and concerns on the inherent societal benefits of the issuance of a CBDC past the Banking company of England.

According to the data, 30% of participants believe that a "Britcoin" CBDC is "more likely to be harmful than beneficial to the UK," with 24% believing that it could exist beneficial, while the remaining participants at 46% were undecided.

A deeper assay of the specific concerns regarding a digital currency revealed that 73% of participants would be "concerned about the threat of hacks and cyberattacks, 70% almost users' privacy, 62% well-nigh the government being able to seize their money, and 45% about the environmental affect."

If this initiative crossed the hurdles to public adoption and was implemented country-wide, it would exist the outset time a digital currency has been issued by a central bank in the United kingdom.

The U.Thou. has been exploring the concept of a CBDC for the final few years. In April, Her Majesty'south Treasury and the Bank of England collaborated to launch a preliminary chore force designed to comprehend the "design, implementation and operation" challenges associated with a CBDC.

Tom Mutton, head of fintech at the BOE, is pioneering this charge to a CBDC future and recently shared his views on the benefits of implementation from "competition and diversity in payments, through to opportunities to promote financial inclusion and safeguard privacy."

Back in June, Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak promised a "sweeping set of financial services reforms" over the next few years, with a CBDC at the top of the list of priorities.

Related: Countries representing over ninety% of global GDP are exploring CBDCs

In response to the Bank of England'due south 2022 discussion paper on the prospect of a CBDC, respondents — who included tech and fintech firms, private individuals, payment firms and more — identified iv cardinal themes.

These were that the "use example" for a CBDC needs to be further developed and better articulated; the demand for CBDC to support financial inclusion and protect privacy; the BOE's pattern principles are comprehensive, but challenging to deliver; and functional capabilities were considered to exist crucial, including offline payments.

From the discussion paper, Mutton concluded that there was "virtually universal agreement that the pros and cons needed to be studied in depth, broad date was needed as the evidence was assembled, and open consultation essential earlier reaching any conclusions."