Is it time for ‘Britcoin'? Lords to ask Bank of England
The House of Lords Economic Affairs Committee will next week take evidence from the Deputy Governor of the Bank of England on blockchain technology, the distributed ledger that allows Bitcoin to function as an online currency.
The session comes as the Bank of England explores the possibility of central banks using digital currencies.
The Committee will also hear from academic experts and financial services professionals engaged in the developing technology.
The sessions will start at 3:00pm on Tuesday 19 July in Committee Room 1 of the House of Lords
The full witness details are:
3:00pm
Dr Ben Broadbent, Deputy Governor, Monetary Policy, Bank of England
3:45PM
Dr Catherine Mulligan, Associate Director, Imperial College Centre for Cryptocurrency Research
Professor Michael Mainelli, Emeritus Mercers' School Memorial Professor of Commerce, Gresham College
Lord Spens – Transformation and Assurance Director, PWC
4:30pm
Blythe Masters – Chief Executive Officer, Digital Asset Holdings, LLC
Simon Taylor – Co-Founder / Director of Blockchain, 11:FS
In the session with Dr Ben Broadbent the Committee will explore the prospect of a central bank digital currency and the effect it could have on commercial banks, predictions that blockchain technology could produce annual savings of $16bn in administration costs for financial services firms and what risks the technology may pose to financial security.
In the second session questions will cover the industries most likely to be impacted by blockchain technology, its possible applications for Government services (such as tax collection and benefits payments) and concerns about security of the technology.
In the session with Blythe Masters and Simon Taylor areas covered will include the risks associated with transitioning from the current settlement system to a blockchain based system and further applications of the technology in financial services.
