After the tests of the Rosalind CBDC project, the launch of “Britcoin” was a few centimeters closer

The Bank of England (BoE) is a step closer to launching its central bank digital currency (CBDC) called ‘Britcoin’ after concluding a trial study called Project Rosalind.

The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) together with the BoE launched a joint experiment in July 2022 to explore how Application Programming Interface (API) prototypes could be implemented in CBDC retail transactions.

June 16 message who summarized phase two of the Rosalind project found that CBDC could make payments between individuals cheaper and more efficient, while also allowing firms to create new financial products that reduce fraudulent financial activity.

In total, the study developed 33 API functions and explored “more than 30 retail CBDC use cases.”

Rosalind CBDC Project API Summary. Source: BIS.

In addition to examining how CBDC would work on smartphones, retailers and online stores, the study also explored the concept of “programmability” – a term that refers to customizing digital money to behave in a certain way once certain conditions are met.

Programmability of CBDC was was met with considerable skepticismas critics argue that CBDC could be programmed to “work against” those who use it.

Overall, the study concluded that a “well-designed” API layer could allow a central bank to interact with the private sector to “securely deliver” retail CBDC payments.

“The Rosalind Experiment advanced central bank innovation in two key areas: exploring how an API layer could support a retail CBDC system and how it could facilitate safe and secure CBDC payments through a range of different use cases,” said Francesca Road, Head of BIS London Innovation Hub in a press release.

Despite the positive findings from Project Rosalind, BoE Deputy Governor Jon Cunliffe said a final decision on whether the country will launch a CBDC is still “several years” away.

Related: Privacy should be factored into ‘potential retail CBDC’ – Treasury official

According to Bloomberg on June 16 messageCunliffe told attendees at Politico’s Global Tech Day conference that the odds of a CBDC project going forward are currently “seven out of ten.”

On the same day, insights from Project Rosalind, an enterprise blockchain, were released Quant Network he announced its role as supplier in the study. The announcement noted the price of Quant’s native QNT (QNT) the token increased by more than 20% from $96 to $117 in 12 hours.

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