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What exactly is a digital pound?
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Mr. Veracity
Posted: 08 February 2023 16:52:31(UTC)
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Digital Currency is one of the last things needed to control the people, if this is allowed to happen 1984 is just around the corner.
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Guest on 09/02/2023(UTC), Nigel Harris on 10/02/2023(UTC), NoMoreKickingCans on 11/02/2023(UTC)
Tug Boat
Posted: 08 February 2023 18:13:14(UTC)
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Currency is already digital, I haven’t used cash since February 2020.

Well, except for the window cleaner who doesn’t like paying tax.
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ANDREW FOSTER on 08/02/2023(UTC), J-san on 08/03/2023(UTC)
Mixa
Posted: 09 February 2023 12:16:49(UTC)
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Good question. I actually read the comments section on the BBC news for an article announcing this very thing.

The general consensus was not in favour of this. Some spot points I agreed with included “this is trying to fix a problem that does not exist” and “we already do E-Payments via online shopping so what’s the biggest driver to re-invent this wheel”. My favourite was “It’s like PayPal with extra steps”

I personally am open to new avenues and ways of doing things “ if “ there is a clear benefit it provides me. I am keen to see what significant difference this brings compared to how we already use money now and will remain cautiously unenthusiastic about it.

My worry is the amount of electrical power needed to keep this currency “alive” as crypto burns a lot of energy from the little I understand.

My second worry is that this will enhance and legitimise the “credibility/reputation” of Crpyo Currencies as a whole. And while people may differ I strongly believe crpto is “currently” a big Ponzi Scheme. Everyone buying into crpto is only doing it to sell at a higher price to someone who wants to do the same thing. Almost everyone is buying it to eventually sell it and are not buying it to use as a currency.And as a currency it has huge volatility. As a result lots of people get burned and lose lots of money from it. There has even been the recent scandals of Crypto exchanges going into administration and wiping out all the money people had in them since the crpto crash. And a select few would have profited off that tragedy.It’s really scary stuff.
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Nigel Harris on 10/02/2023(UTC)
Thrugelmir
Posted: 09 February 2023 16:20:19(UTC)
#24

Joined: 01/06/2012(UTC)
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Mixa;256970 wrote:

The general consensus was not in favour of this. Some spot points I agreed with included “this is trying to fix a problem that does not exist” and “we already do E-Payments via online shopping so what’s the biggest driver to re-invent this wheel”. My favourite was “It’s like PayPal with extra steps”



That's because people apply it to themselves. Not the world of business. Where large value transactions are commonplace.
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Sara G
Posted: 09 February 2023 16:43:18(UTC)
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Thrugelmir;256997 wrote:
Mixa;256970 wrote:

The general consensus was not in favour of this. Some spot points I agreed with included “this is trying to fix a problem that does not exist” and “we already do E-Payments via online shopping so what’s the biggest driver to re-invent this wheel”. My favourite was “It’s like PayPal with extra steps”



That's because people apply it to themselves. Not the world of business. Where large value transactions are commonplace.


Apologies in advance for a possibly stupid question, but couldn't the banks simply expand the Faster Payments system? I'm assuming there is currently a cap that applies to all transactions not just individuals, but the process works very well. It takes only seconds for me to send yet another (to me) painfully large sum to my builders, for example...
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4 users thanked Sara G for this post.
ANDREW FOSTER on 10/02/2023(UTC), Nigel Harris on 10/02/2023(UTC), Jimmy Page on 20/02/2023(UTC), J-san on 08/03/2023(UTC)
Thrugelmir
Posted: 09 February 2023 17:23:56(UTC)
#29

Joined: 01/06/2012(UTC)
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Sara G;257004 wrote:
Thrugelmir;256997 wrote:
Mixa;256970 wrote:

The general consensus was not in favour of this. Some spot points I agreed with included “this is trying to fix a problem that does not exist” and “we already do E-Payments via online shopping so what’s the biggest driver to re-invent this wheel”. My favourite was “It’s like PayPal with extra steps”



That's because people apply it to themselves. Not the world of business. Where large value transactions are commonplace.


Apologies in advance for a possibly stupid question, but couldn't the banks simply expand the Faster Payments system?




CHAPS is a manual process. Faster payment do get lost in the banking system. Digital currency would also be underpinned by blockchain. A permanent record of the transaction, akin to a ledger. Blockchain technology is the future.
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Sara G on 09/02/2023(UTC)
Tug Boat
Posted: 09 February 2023 17:52:53(UTC)
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“CHAPS is a manual process. Faster payment do get lost in the banking system. Digital currency would also be underpinned by blockchain. A permanent record of the transaction, akin to a ledger. Blockchain technology is the future.”

I’m a software type, I understand a little bit about this and blockchain is a ledger. If you pay for something with cash, the amount you paid for that something does not give value to the thing you used to pay for that something. That’s the issue.

If I bought a widget spinner 10 years ago I’d have paid £5, I can now buy them for 50p.

Blockchain has a future in tracking stuff, but it can’t underpin a means of exchange.
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Sara G on 09/02/2023(UTC)
Thrugelmir
Posted: 09 February 2023 18:15:47(UTC)
#31

Joined: 01/06/2012(UTC)
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Tug Boat;257018 wrote:

Blockchain has a future in tracking stuff, but it can’t underpin a means of exchange.



Not if the Bank Of England guarantees to pay the bearer?
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Jonathan Friend
Posted: 10 February 2023 17:00:42(UTC)
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In addition to what low income investor and Sara have described - which hits the nail on the head - it is also a way, I think, to undermine the digital crypto currencies with a fiat form of digital currency. In addition to a way to phase out paper cash, which is more difficult for the state to monitor.

For all their flaws, the basic idea behind crypto currencies was to establish a kind of digital gold standard where politicians and their servants cannot keep stealing the wealth of the citizenry by debasing the medium of exchange. It might not be obvious to people from stable countries, until very recently anyway, but ask the Argentinians or others and they will know precisely how dangerous fiat currencies can be in the hands of the wrong people.

The state digital currency doesn't have any limitation or objective basis to it, like a fixed number or gold backing. It is just a digital form of the same crap they already print. Except they can be far more nosey, intrusive and thieving. It is worse than paper cash.

It is a disturbing thought to give these people such powerful tools. Ordinary folk don't need it and should resist it.
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5 users thanked Jonathan Friend for this post.
Sara G on 10/02/2023(UTC), Nigel Harris on 10/02/2023(UTC), NoMoreKickingCans on 11/02/2023(UTC), Newbie on 12/02/2023(UTC), J-san on 08/03/2023(UTC)
ANDREW FOSTER
Posted: 10 February 2023 17:44:16(UTC)
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Thrugelmir;256997 wrote:
Mixa;256970 wrote:

The general consensus was not in favour of this. Some spot points I agreed with included “this is trying to fix a problem that does not exist” and “we already do E-Payments via online shopping so what’s the biggest driver to re-invent this wheel”. My favourite was “It’s like PayPal with extra steps”



That's because people apply it to themselves. Not the world of business. Where large value transactions are commonplace.


OK, correct me if I'm wrong but all 'Digital Pounds' would have a unique identifier, like individual Bitcoins.

Thus for big business to send, say a 25 million pound payment for a tanker full of oil is going to require the transfer of 25 million individual 'digital pounds', rather than a single debit/credit transaction of 25 million. That's a crazy amount of extra processing and ledgering to perform for just one transaction. Unless I'm missing something?

It sounds like insanity to me, and someone hasn't thought about it hard enough.

And you can't group the pounds into larger bundles because those bundles might have to be subsequently split. The individual Pound ID would have to be kept.

Or, as with BTC, is it actually a much smaller unit (a Satoshi). Then how do you do fractional amounts which are absolutely necessary for any ledger system.

...and then how do you send money to another country to convert to their currency? Does every bank in the world have to install systems to handle 'Digital Pounds"? Sure they are going to do that.

It just sounds madder by the minute.
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1 user thanked ANDREW FOSTER for this post.
Newbie on 12/02/2023(UTC)
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