‘Kick Britcoin plans into the long grass’

A FORMER adviser to ex-Bank of England governor Mark Carney has said plans to create a digital pound should be ‘kicked into the long grass’.

Financier Huw van Steenis said cryptocurrency markets were a key factor behind the recent collapse of banks in the United States.

San Diego-based Silvergate, a key lender to several major crypto firms, last week announced plans to wind down its operations after questions were raised by auditors about its accounts.

New York rival Signature Bank, which was closed by regulators on Sunday, also had several crypto companies as clients.

Van Steenis, a partner at management consulting firm Oliver Wyman, said: ‘Three banks failed over the last week, two of them had got their fingers burnt in the crypto area.’