Central bank digital currency launched by the British government is not something desirable for one-third of Britons, while 24% see potential in the move.
According to recent research, every third British citizen fears that a potential digital pound could bring more harm than benefits to the UK economic system. In contrast, 24% believe the so-called Britcoin would turn to be a successful financial instrument.
Britcoin Brings More Suspicion Than Excitement
The US journalism company Politico surveyed 2,500 British adults to determine their opinion on issuing a digital version of the local pound currency. The majority of the respondents (30%) stated they do not support such an idea.
According to them, the British CBDC, also known as Britcoin, would not positively impact the local economy, which passes through difficult times caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and Brexit.
Fear of hackers and cyber attacks ranked as a top reason why Brits doubt owning digital pounds since 73% picked this answer. It's worth noting that David Lindberg – Chief Executive of retail banking at NatWest – recently warned investors to beware of dealing with virtual assets in Britain. He went further, stating that the Kingdom is a “paradise for scammers.”
Keeping in mind that central bank digital currencies are issued and controlled by the government, it is no surprise that 62% have concerns that the authorities might seize Britcoins directly from the people's digital wallets.
Still, the e-pound has some supporters, as 24% of the respondents believe in its potential. 46% could not make up their mind and did not give a straight answer whether the country would benefit from a CBDC.
Unlike Britcoin, the locals seem to be more enthusiastic about cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH). 40% said they would like to see proper legislation about the assets so UK residents can operate freely with them.
Crypto Interest in The UK Is on The Rise
Virtual assets and dealing with them is still a complicated matter in the UK as the share of people investing is significantly lower than in other countries.
However, according to another survey, public awareness surged by 5% in a year, as in 2021, 78% of the locals have heard of cryptocurrencies compared to 73% in 2020.
The number of individuals who own virtual assets has also increased as 2.3 million Britons have some crypto exposure, representing 4.4% of the population. Last years data showed this percentage to be 3.9%.
As CryptoPotato reported, those UK residents who want to interact with digital assets would have one more option to do it – PayPal's platform. The multinational financial technology company enabled locals to purchase Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), Litecoin (LTC), or Bitcoin Cash (BCH) for as low as £1.
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