MIT Digital Currency Initiative

In February 2022, the Bank of England and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) agreed to collaborate on a twelve-month research project on Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC). The Bank will partner with the MIT Media Lab's Digital Currency Initiative (DCI) team to explore potential technical challenges, trade-offs, opportunities and risks involved in designing a CBDC system.

The collaboration forms part of the Bank's wider 'research and exploration' into CBDC, and will be focused on exploration and experimentation of potential technology approaches. This work is focused on exploratory technology research and is not intended to develop an operational CBDC. No decision has been made on whether to introduce a CBDC in the UK, which would be a major national infrastructure project. Undertaking this type of technical research will help inform wider policy thinking around CBDC.