The Bank of England (BoE) and His Majesty’s Treasury have reportedly indicated that the United Kingdom is likely to need a central bank digital currency (CBDC) by 2030.

This announcement comes amid a 35% drop in cash and coin payments in 2020 and a decrease in the use of cash, which now accounts for only one in six payments, according to a report first shared by The Telegraph. In response to the decreasing use of physical mediums of exchange, the government plans to introduce the “digital pound” roadmap this week.

The deputy governor of the BoE, Jon Cunliffe, is scheduled to give an update on the CBDC project on February 7, and the BoE and HM Treasury have announced that a joint consultation on the digital pound will be released soon. The news of the digital pound also follows HM Treasury’s recent posting of a job opening for a head of CBDC on LinkedIn, describing the role as “important, complex, and cross-cutting.”

The digital pound is just one of many CBDCs that are expected to be introduced worldwide in the coming years. Other countries, such as Sweden, Denmark, and the European Central Bank, are also exploring the concept of digital currencies — with China already having launched its digital yuan in beta for local app stores.

The technology also continues to evolve with upgrades to smart contract functionality, though many are still wary of the privacy trade-off required and some believe it even goes against the nature of crypto.

Adoption of cryptocurrencies in the U.K. is also being driven by London’s position as “the most crypto-ready city in the world” for businesses and start-ups, according to a recent study by Recap.

The study found that London, along with leading metropolitan cities such as Dubai and New York, ranks high in the list of crypto-ready cities due to factors such as the number of crypto-related events, jobs, and companies, as well as the number of crypto ATMs.

London also has the highest number of people working in crypto-related jobs, indicating higher interest in the crypto ecosystem among the general public.

The United Kingdom’s new Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak recently stated that it is his “ambition to make the U.K. a global hub for crypto-asset technology,” an ambition that seems to be well underway, with an added objective of ensuring “firms can invest, innovate, and scale up in this country.”

An increasing push towards a digital pound and the support for crypto businesses in London further strengthens the case for the global adoption of crypto as a modern, efficient, and innovative financial solution — though adopters should still aim for optionality of self-sovereignty over assets, as that is one of the great freedoms crypto provides.

In other news, Binance and Mastercard partner to bring crypto card to Brazil.