Bank of England Forms Digital Pound Advisory Group to Shape CBDC Design

Announced on the Bank’s Website on Wednesday, the Bank of England (BoE) has established a digital pound advisory group named the CBDC Academic Advisory Group (AAG) and is actively seeking specialists to join this group as the nation enters the CBDC design phase. 

The Bank of England has announced the establishment of the Academic Advisory Group (AAG), which will collaborate with His Majesty (HM) Treasury. The Bank of England and HM Treasury invite academics and researchers to indicate their willingness to participate in the group.

“Today, the Bank of England and HM Treasury have issued an open call for interest for academics and researchers wishing to join a newly created CBDC Academic Advisory Group (the AAG).”

According to the announcement, the AAG aims to assemble specialists from various fields connected to the Bank’s efforts concerning the digital pound. The group will encompass monetary policy, finance, competition economics, industrial organization, behavioral science, law, innovation theory, marketing, and business.

This initiative aims to leverage academic expertise and foster interdisciplinary discussions concerning retail Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) and its relevance to the ongoing design phase.

“Through this group, we seek to generate expert academic input and promote interdisciplinary discussions on a range of topics related to retail CBDC,” the BoE said on its website.

Recognizing the importance of well-informed and comprehensive approaches, the Bank’s active engagement with academia is considered essential. The AAG will be a pivotal platform for exchanging knowledge and conducting collaborative research. Comprising experts from various disciplines, the group will offer diverse and nuanced insights into critical CBDC-related inquiries.

Central to its mission, the AAG will facilitate the exploration of unconventional ideas, open debates, and perspectives that challenge existing paradigms regarding the digital pound.

Exploring the Future: Public Consultation on the Digital Pound Initiative by BOE and HM Treasury 

In February of this year, the government launched a public consultation to gather feedback on the potential introduction of a digital pound, a new currency for households and businesses. This stablecoin initiative, supported jointly by the Bank of England (BoE) and HM Treasury, aims to take a significant step forward in the nation’s financial landscape.

The underlying rationale, as outlined in the February Consultation Paper, is that both institutions aim to establish close collaboration with the private sector for experimenting with proofs of concepts.

 “The Bank of England and HM Treasury judge it likely that a digital pound will be needed in the future. It is too early to decide whether to build the infrastructure for one, but we are convinced the next stage of preparatory work is justified. “

The initial phase of the consultation concluded in June. Subsequently, the Bank of England will embark on a dedicated two-year period to conduct its experiments and further refine the digital pound’s design in collaboration with insights from the AAG (Advisory and Accountability Group).

The Bank of England and HM Treasury have pinpointed a crucial process in line with the consultation’s outcomes. Once the CBDC design phase reaches its culmination, a pivotal decision will be made regarding creating the digital pound.

The work carried out during the design phase holds immense significance, as it will play a pivotal role in amassing essential data for a comprehensive assessment of the benefits and drawbacks that lie ahead.