From Bitcoin to 'Britcoin'... The UK has set up a taskforce to examine the viability of a "digital pound" for people and businesses, amid a cryptocurrency boom.

The Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) panel, put together by the Treasury and the Bank of England, is part of a drive to make the UK's finance sector more innovative after Brexit.

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The digital version of sterling would potentially allow people to have accounts directly with the central bank and be used alongside cash and cards for everyday transactions.

The bank has also said this would not replace either physical cash or existing bank accounts.

"The government and the Bank of England have not yet made a decision on whether to introduce a CBDC in the UK and will engage widely with stakeholders on the benefits, risks and practicalities of doing so," the BoE said.

Sean Kiernan is the CEO of Greengage, a start-up digital merchant banking firm based in London. He told CGTN Europe the business case is strong.

"What we're talking about here is the capacity to reduce a lot of costs in the system in terms of counterparty risk," he said.

"Here, for example, when making a payment overseas, there is often a period of several days before that payment actually arrives. If the plumbing of that payment transfer process is digitized and that's underwritten by a central bank, then there's much less risk in terms of understanding, is that money actually there and will that money actually arrive."

He added: "You can potentially transform settlement times from days to a matter of seconds, which would reduce a lot of risk in the system and create a much more efficient payment process."

Last week, the European Central Bank said it was studying an electronic form of cash to complement banknotes and coins but any launch was still several years away.

If "Britcoin" gets the go-ahead then it would also put the UK way ahead of the U.S., where the Federal Reserve and Treasury have been cautious about setting up a digital currency.