The government of Wales has reportedly backed plans to launch a digital currency that could help businesses in the country.
According to the Welsh government, the digital currency – Celyn – would essentially be a credit system that allows businesses within the local economy to trade with one another using an alternative to the Great British Pound.
The digital currency is being created by the Circular Economy Wales firm, which is being awarded a total of £100,000 (around $130,000) from a Welsh government initiative called the Foundational Economy Challenge Funds. The digital currency could reportedly boost the Welsh economy by £250 million (around $321 million) over the next decade.
A proposed pilot of Celyn is set to take place in North Wales in 2020. Eifion Williams, the CEO of Circular Economy Wales, revealed the Celyn system is based on a Sardinian mutual credit system called Sardex. He was quoted as saying:
Wales is similar to Sardinia in that SMEs make up 99 per cent of our businesses, so this has the potential to significantly boost our economy
Per his words, the Sardex system benefited the Sardinian small and medium enterprise economy “to the tune of 50 million euros last year alone.” It’s unclear whether the digital currency runs on a blockchain, as there’s no mention of the use of the technology.
Notably Wales isn’t the only country looking into its own digital currency. Canada’s central bank is reportedly considering launches a digital currency itself, according to a presentation made for its governor.
Featured image by Sabine Peters on Unsplash.
