"Britcoin" - a distraction from the real issues?

[Fambo Number Mive]

I've noticed that a Daily Mail article claiming Sunak has set up a taskforce to look into replacing cash with "Britcoin" a new digital currency is trending on Twitter. The taskforce will report by the end of the year.

A distraction from the real issues or something that might actually happen? I don't know much about economics but I can't see much of a need to replace cash with this new currency - what about people who don't use the internet? How would this work for them?

I can only see this reported on the Daily Mail and Unilad and I'm not linking to either of them. Maybe it's a desperate attempt by the Chancellor to distract Daily Mail readers from how Brexit is turning out to be a shitshow. They might as well have a faeces-based currency and call it Shitcoin for all the good it will do.

[Chedney Honks]

Would love a load of people to invest in it and lose absolutely everything.

[Johnny Textface]

They might as well have a faeces-based currency and call it Shitcoin for all the good it will do.

There's already about a million of them.

[JamesTC]

Britcoin to the moon [rocket emoji][rocket emoji][rocket emoji]

[Shoulders?-Stomach!]

The real issues being that gang of mental paedoes roaming Oswestry called TOSSERS ON THE LOOSE

[Sebastian Cobb]

It's probably so they can have a panopticon of the public's spending data. Or so they can sell it.

Places like Sweden apparently operate almost entirely cashlessly using these cutting-edge technologies called "visa" and "mastercard", you don't need to invent an energy-intensive digital currency to do it.

The Swedes do seemingly seem to have better rules around privacy in the first place though.

Can't wait until my inert, hard-wearing bit of plastic that works everywhere is made obsolete by a fucking app that needs a charged phone and data. Such progress, wow.

[olliebean]

Its supporters in the Treasury say that it would allow the Bank to give the economy a boost in times of financial crisis by paying the 'Britcoins' directly into people's bank accounts.

Into "people's" bank accounts. Right. No doubt the same "people" who've ended up with all the money created during the pandemic. You and I certainly shouldn't expect to be seeing any of it.

[Fambo Number Mive]

They should call it CroneyCoin. An instant way to reward your supporters with public money.

[Video Game Fan 2000]

I heard it will run on a revolutionary Proof of Hijinks consensus system.

[buttgammon]

With the underlying energy usage accelerating environmental catastrophe, it may end up being the real issue (I think it's bollocks to be honest - what we're looking at is an investment for techbros rather than a new currency).

[Sebastian Cobb]

I've got some reservations about immediately tying energy usage to things being bad, given energy can and will need to be decarbonised, but the amount of consumption it drives through hardware, and as such the actual mining for electronics and subsequent e-waste it generates are reason enough to consider it stupid.

It's a shame, if it were used for anonymously buying drugs and hitmen it would basically be fine and have some utility, but most of the transactions, back and forth, are just a bit like arb betting, just made-up numbers swirling around burning through tangible resources just to line the pockets of some people at the top of the pyramids.

Not sure I'd use a government-backed 'britcoin' to buy the odd quarter of Star Dawg either.

[Johnny Textface]

When Lambo?

[The Ombudsman]

Sounds to me like a way to restrict currency, so only those 'approved' can have real money.

Isn't this like what happens in China? I believe most things are paid for within WeChat using a digital currency. They can then ensure people only spend inside the country and of course, heavily track and monitor everything.

That said, there must be some sort fiat currency being used for black market stuff. Guessing the almighty US dollar. If not banned.

[MojoJojo]

Rumours like this are constantly being spewed on crypto sub reddits and the like. The idea is it adds some potential legitimacy to crypto and people get excited and buy more pushing the price up. I really, really doubt there is any truth in the reports.

Quote from: Daily Mail
Its supporters in the Treasury say that it would allow the Bank to give the economy a boost in times of financial crisis by paying the 'Britcoins' directly into people's bank accounts.

I don't really know what that means. It makes as much sense as saying they could pay Commemorative Coins directly into people's bank accounts.

[Sebastian Cobb]

Sounds to me like a way to restrict currency, so only those 'approved' can have real money.

Isn't this like what happens in China? I believe most things are paid for within WeChat using a digital currency. They can then ensure people only spend inside the country and of course, heavily track and monitor everything.

That said, there must be some sort fiat currency being used for black market stuff. Guessing the almighty US dollar. If not banned.

Oh yeah, and access to lots of services is controlled by specific 'social credit' scores.

[Sebastian Cobb]

Rumours like this are constantly being spewed on crypto sub reddits and the like. The idea is it adds some potential legitimacy to crypto and people get excited and buy more pushing the price up. I really, really doubt there is any truth in the reports.
I don't really know what that means. It makes as much sense as saying they could pay Commemorative Coins directly into people's bank accounts.

It probably does drive the prices up. But nearly all the money in crypto (outside people actually giving the stuff utility to sell things they shouldn't) its speculative and people pump it to drive the price up all the time.

[dissolute ocelot]

Is this the same as what Wikipedia calls Central bank digital currency, basically a digital version of a banknote where each is uniquely identified and can be traded/used as payment? Not sure I completely understand it, but the article says several nations have proposed something similar including the UK in 2015 and the Eurozone in 2018.

[Emotional Support Peacock]

I know quite a lot about this.

It's just a digital representation of the current pound sterling. It's not something that could be speculated upon or something that would eat up energy/resources in mining.

It could potentially be used to keep a closer eye on people's spending but privacy laws should prevent this. Only your private sector service provider should have access to that info and would only disclose it if legally forced to.

It could completely change the banking system, for better or worse.

[Zetetic]

How completely?

[Fry]

Those lads over online that China knocked it out of the park with those little circle coins that have a square hole in them. Its all been downhill from there to be honest.

But then again they've been getting owned time and again by the same river for millenia so what do they know? Its a complex topic thats for sure

[Blue Jam]

The real issues being that gang of mental paedoes roaming Oswestry called TOSSERS ON THE LOOSE

Nah mate that's just a stag do

[TrenterPercenter]

I'm only interested if every Britcoin is the digital representation of Ray Winstone; in fact we should upload him to the internet and start mining his genetic code.  For each full britcoin mined "THIS FACKIN TOOL" is klaxoned from your PC speakers.  Also I want all civil servants managing it mandated to do Ray Winstone impressions in any interviews or user support roles and in some cases maybe even required to get plastic surgery to make them more Winstone-esque.

This would work for me.

[Shoulders?-Stomach!]

How completely?

Currency will all be called 'bitsies'.

[TrenterPercenter]

Currency will all be called 'bitsies'.

No 'winsties'

[Emotional Support Peacock]

How completely?

I said could, not that it will. I can't imagine the powers that be would allow that to happen.

The following is paraphrased from elsewhere, hopefully reasonably clear.

Today, citizens can hold money basically in two forms: in the form of physical cash, issued by central banks, or in the form of deposits with banks. Over the past decades the use of bank deposits has outgrown physical cash – the latter constitutes less than 10% of money in circulation in the eurozone. Bank deposits serve as a vital source of funding for the other major financial-economic function of banks: extending credit to businesses, households and the public sector.

In the digital age, Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) can be considered a "third way" between physical cash and digital bank money. CBDC would allow citizens to retain access to central bank issued money (like physical cash), but in a digital form. A retail CBDC may compete with (or even replace) bank deposits, which may reduce and destabilise the deposit funding available to banks.

[Sebastian Cobb]

Cryptocurrencies were supposed to change everything but all I see are cunts who already money trading to make more money, story old as time really.

[imitationleather]

Will I be able to pay for a BritBox subscription with this?

[olliebean]

I said could, not that it will. I can't imagine the powers that be would allow that to happen.

The following is paraphrased from elsewhere, hopefully reasonably clear.

Today, citizens can hold money basically in two forms: in the form of physical cash, issued by central banks, or in the form of deposits with banks. Over the past decades the use of bank deposits has outgrown physical cash – the latter constitutes less than 10% of money in circulation in the eurozone. Bank deposits serve as a vital source of funding for the other major financial-economic function of banks: extending credit to businesses, households and the public sector.

I think this is incorrect. The credit extended by banks (i.e., bank loans) is not funded by deposits, AIUI. Largely the opposite, in fact.