The Bank of England (BoE) has established a panel of advisors for its digital pound project and is currently in the process of recruiting members, it said on Wednesday.
In collaboration with the Treasury, the financial arm of the government that has been actively contributing to the nation’s CBDC initiatives, the BoE is extending an invitation to academics and researchers to express their interest in participating in this advisory group.
The BoE’s official website states, “Through this group, we seek to generate expert academic input and promote interdisciplinary discussions on a range of topics related to retail CBDC.”
In February, the government initiated a consultation regarding the introduction of a digital pound, a prospect that both the government and BoE deem to be increasingly necessary. This initial consultation phase concluded in June. Over the forthcoming two years, the BoE has charted a course to undertake its own experimentation and design phase, a strategy known to individuals familiar with the matter.
The bank is actively seeking to fill positions within its CBDC engagement forum, an entity established to aid in comprehending the pragmatic challenges intertwined with the design, execution, and operation of a CBDC, as outlined on its official website.
In addition to this, the BoE has commenced the process of soliciting input from stakeholders in relation to use cases for offline payments and the specific requisites that merchants would necessitate from the blueprint of a digital pound.