The Bank of England (BoE) answered over 70 questions from applicants who want to win over the $244,000 contract.
Firms that applied to win over the $244,000 contract to develop a central bank digital currency (CBDC) wallet proof-of-concept (PoC) for the Bank of England (BOE) posed questions about the project. In response, the central bank published its answers to more than 70 questions.
On December 9, the Bank of England opened applications encouraging suppliers to submit applications. Nearly 20 firms submitted their applications and handed in their questions before December 25. After that, the BOE published the questions asked by the competitors and gave its answers that aimed to offer insights and highlights about the project.
Based on the replies by the Bank of England, it aims to develop a back-end server for a core ledger, a merchant website, and a mobile wallet application. The bank insisted that it is yet to commit any resources to develop a sample wallet and will just use the PoC to expand its knowledge. The Bank of England wrote:
“We’re using this PoC to deepen our knowledge and understanding of how CBDC products could possibly interact with each other.”
At first, 28 applicants were submitted, but eight of them did not continue with the process after the question stage. Those who finished their applications are nine small and medium-sized enterprises and 11 huge firms. According to the Bank of England, the contract will get awarded to the selected applicant on January 31.
Buy Bitcoin NowOn November 23, BOE officials Sir Jon Cunliffe and Andrew Bailey answered many questions raised by legislators in a live-streamed event. On the topic of digital currencies, these officials appeared to see CBDCs as a revolution for the future of money. Sir Cunliffe state that he expects to see a significant revolution in the functionality of money that is “driven by technology.”
In the meantime, an industry executive recently spoke with reporters to explain how cryptocurrency can be good for CBDCs and vice versa. The deputy CEO of crypto firm INX, Itai Avneri, stated that CBDCs and regulated crypto has the potential to complement one another.
