TL;DR Breakdown
- Ripple has joined the board of the UK’s Digital Pound Foundation. The foundation is pushing for the adoption of a digital pound in England.
- The Bank of England recognizes that a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) will enhance financial access. The electronic pound is, therefore, the cornerstone of an equitable financial system in the UK.
Ripple says it has agreed to join the Digital Pound Foundation’s (DPF) board. DPF is a non-profit that’s pursuing the creation and adoption of the electronic pound in England.
The firms’ policy chief, Susan Friedman, will sit on the DPF board. Ripple’s joining of the foundation adds to the engagements it’s having with different nations on CBDCs. In those engagements, it has been supporting its central banks with its technical and management expertise.
Ripple acknowledges the UK’s role in spearheading prudent advancement of the digital assets space. Consequently, it views the latter’s pursuit of the digital pound as a rational conclusion of those efforts.
Ripple backs the digital pound
Friedman has expressed Ripple’s excitement at the new working relationship. She reiterated that her company was happy to support DPF in creating and executing the digital pound.
Again, she’s confident that DPF will assist Britain in achieving a long-term all-embracing settlement system.
The digital pound will anchor the UK’s push for an inventive digital society. Collaboration with other digital assets will guarantee the nation’s place at the apex of the evolving digital ecosystem.
Today, many central banks are experimenting with sovereign-issued cryptocurrencies. These include CBDCs.
The Bank of England (BOE) hasn’t lagged in those endeavors too. It’s working to find solutions to the challenges of creating, adopting, and managing the electronic pound.
BOE envisions the e-pound as the key to increasing households’ and businesses’ access to funds. It also recognizes the significance of the advancing digital payments sector.
In it, the UK can look forward to a settlement system that’s capable and timely, and affordable. Such a system isn’t only viable but also has wide application.
There’s a need for broader collaboration to get there, though. The foundation understands this fact, and that’s why it’s seeking the input of other players in this space. It holds that such associations will guarantee UKs lead as the hub of financial innovation.
Ripple’s expertise in CBDC development
As they continue adopting CBDCs, central banks must grapple with several factors that may impact these projects. These include privacy, interoperability, and independence. The three are central to the banks moving funds in an affordable, dependable and timely manner.
Here’s where Ripple comes in. Its expertise in the creation and application of CBDCs creation and is a boon for the e-pound project.
Last month, Ripple said it was teaming up with Bhutan’s Central Bank, the Royal Monetary Authority (RMA), in a similar project. In the deal, the former would help RMA test an international and bulk settlements system for its e-Ngultrum.
The digital Ngultrum is Bhutan’s CBDC version of its fiat currency. Ripple is supplying the Blockchain infrastructure besides the CBDC solution for this project.
Bhutan banks on this partnership to boost digital payments. It’ll also strengthen its efforts towards increasing financial inclusion. Moreover, it’ll help the nation maintain its pledge to sustainability.
Today, Bhutan remains the world’s only carbon-neutral country. Ripple’s CBDC solution is also carbon neutral. As such, it is the perfect fit for Bhutan’s e-payments and sustainability goals.
