Bank of England To Launch "Bitcoin-like" Cryptocurrency
According to an article published today in Telegraph.co.uk Bank of England is pondering the launch of a digital cryptocurrency, linked to the pound.
A Bank of England-issued digital currency would potentially allow British citizens to keep their money - in digital form - with the central bank itself, dispensing with the need for a retail bank. Big-ticket transactions, such as buying a house, could happen in nanoseconds.
I'm seeing more and more of these news and I'm a bit confused, to be honest.
The use of blockchain technology doesn't necessarily mean we're talking about a decentralized cryptocurrency. All the state-owned banks are in fact talking about a centralized, permission-based ledger, which is something completely different from what Bitcoin, Ethereum and Steem are.
I'm happy to see blockchain adoption increased, but it's not the technology itself that sits at the core of Bitcoin-like ecosystems, but the permissionless nature of these ledgers, the fact that they are decentralized and not "owned" by anyone.
The more banks will announce their own "crypto-currencies pegged to the USD, EUR or GBP", the more skeptic will I be towards these projects.
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We are going to see this as start of the cycle and more countries will follow this path
Blockchain can even used to utilize centralize cryto-currency, i guess it may still solve the problem of double spend.
I would not USE any Bank issued Garbage issued by the GOVT's. or BANKS that have Enslaved Humanity for Decades. I Love Crypto's but only the decentralized choices............ @dragosroua
that's right!
ripple is gov pumped
Better than the pound but worse than very decentralized crypocurrency I would guess
Is it like Ripple?
Dunno, no details revealed yet.
I hope not
We saw in the 2008 financial crisis that central banks are now the servants of commercial banks; the commercial banks are profligate, and the central banks are obliged to bail them out of trouble.
Although it may not be the vision of many in crypto-currency, removing commercial banks would be a major dis-intermediation of a national financial system, and would reduce the power of un-elected bodies (banks) to effectively spend taxpayer money on making themselves even richer and more powerful than they already are.
I dont think fiat will vanish anytime soon, it will just become the crypto in which you must pay your taxes, so overall, I think this is positive news.
And it is these exact crypto currencies that the masses will use, not the ones we have now.
Because they are backed by a bank. Most people are not anarchists. Most people don't care about the decentralised nature of a blockchain.
They'll want to get in on something like Bitcoin so they can make a killing. When a bank offers them an opportunity they'll grab it.
wow, seems like the first wave of trying to "own" the blockchain and confusing the general populace about what it actually going on ... i think the government will ultimately fail because crypto is a fount where transparency is essential, and get it out of the hands of oligarchical shell games with money, currency, rates, debt, and capricious inflation.
If it's linked to the pound it's still fiat. If it's government controlled it can't be good. Blockchain is just a tool, it could be used for good purposes and for bad ones. Governments would love to eliminate cash and have the blockchain used as a tracking tool. You won't be able to buy a carrot without them knowing.
Would be huge!