Friday, Jul. 2, 2021
Is the Bank of England moving to the XRP cryptocurrency financial system by September 2022?
A social media post links the Bank of England's phase-out of paper currency to a move to the XRP cryptocurrency financial system. But a spokesman for the bank says there is no link — the bank is in fact replacing paper banknotes with polymer banknotes, but the bank is not planning to move to XRP cryptocurrency.
England's £5 and £10 paper banknotes already have been by replaced by polymer banknotes. The £20 and £50 paper notes will be phased out for polymer notes by September 2022.
XRP is a cryptocurrency developed by the blockchain company Ripple. A global professional services company known as Accenture has worked with Ripple, and Accenture is spearheading the Bank of England's Real Time Gross Settlement Service — the infrastructure that holds accounts for the bank.
Those business-to-business-to-business relationships do not mean the bank is moving to XRP cryptocurrency.
This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
- Bank of England The new £50 enters circulation, and the paper £20 and £50 will be withdrawn in 2022
- Bank of England Why are new banknotes made of polymer?
- Ripple XRP: The Best Digital Asset for Global Payments
- Bank of England Real-Time Gross Settlement Renewal Programme
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