The ‘Britcoin’ Digital Currency Isn't Very Popular Among Britons, Says Poll

Just 24% of Britons believe the proposed digital pound, dubbed the ‘Britcoin’, would be more beneficial than harmful to the UK, according to a recent poll.

In a survey of 2,500 adults from Great Britain by Politico, the company found 30% of respondents believed the 'Britcoin' would do more harm than good. 46% said they didn’t know.

Earlier this year, the UK’s Chancellor Rishi Sunak asked the Bank of England to launch a task force exploring a central bank digital currency – or CBDC – based on the pound.

British Public Bring Concern About Britcoin CBDC

Elaborating on the concerns over the CBDC, some 73% of Brits raised concerns about the threat of hacks and cyberattacks. 55% cited the environmental impact.

This comes as cyber-scams and attacks continue to hit cryptocurrency networks. Cardano’s Charles Hoskinson recently stating that giveaway scams steal millions of dollars' worth of ADA from users every month.

70% of respondents raised concerns over user privacy. 62% were also concerned or very concerned about the government being able to seize these assets.

Many cryptocurrency advocates share these concerns about privacy and control, emphasising the decentralised nature of currency cryptocurrencies, such as bitcoin. The Economist’s Simon Rabinovitch, for example, described China’s Digital Yuan as the ‘anti-bitcoin’.

In total, 24% of those polled said they were likely or very likely to own and use a CBDC.

When asked about cryptocurrency adoption, 31% said they were likely or very likely to own cryptocurrency in the next year.

In explaining why they do not own cryptocurrency, 64% of respondents said they do not know enough about the subject.

40% of Brits would support the government introducing pro-cryptocurrency legislation, with just 16% against this idea.

The Bank of England is not the only institution currently investigating CBDCs. 81 countries are currently investigating the creation of state-backed digital currencies, with the EU greenlighting the assessment of an ‘E-Euro’ digital currency.

You can see the full results of the Politico poll here.

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[Featured Photo by André François McKenzie on Unsplash]