Topic: [2016-07-21] Central bank digital currencies are long way off (Read 249 times)

Central bank digital currencies are long way off, says BoE Deputy Governor
The Economic Affairs Committee of the House of Lords (Parliament's upper house) recently held a meet to discuss blockchain and distributed ledger technology.

Witnesses to the meeting included the likes of Ben Broadbent, Deputy Governor, Monetary Policy, Bank of England; Blythe Masters, Chief Executive Officer, Digital Asset Holdings; Simon Taylor, Co-Founder / Director of Blockchain, 11:FS; Gresham College professor of commerce Michael Mainelli; Imperial College Centre for Cryptocurrency Research associate director Dr Catherine Mulligan; and PwC transformation and assurance director Lord Spens.

Broadbent started off saying that blockchain and distributed ledger technologies are currently in infancy. When asked about the possibility of central bank digital currency (CBDC), he said that it is “a long way off” due to technological barriers along with the fact that it would require major restructuring of the entire financial system, ARS Technica reported.

"If you are talking about an all-singing, all-dancing central bank digital currency, replacing not just the liabilities we currently handle, but prospectively substituting it for commercial money then yes, that is a long way off," Broadbent said. "That is not just about technology; that would be a matter for the shape of the financial system."
http://www.econotimes.com/Central-bank-digital-currencies-are-long-way-off-says-BoE-Deputy-Governor-238901