Share this article
Bank of England Seeks Startups for DLT Privacy Projects
The UK’s central bank is looking for partners for distributed ledger projects focused on data privacy.
By Stan Higgins
Updated Sep 11, 2021, 1:16 p.m. Published Apr 25, 2017, 7:55 p.m.
The UK's central bank is seeking startups to take part in distributed ledger projects focused on data privacy.
In a speech from 12th April and published yesterday, Bank of England governor Mark Carney told attendees of a conference on FinTech that the central bank wants to expand work it began in earnest last year. The applications being researched by the bank include digital currency – an area being explored by a number of central banks worldwide.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
Don't miss another story.Subscribe to the Crypto Daybook Americas Newsletter today. See all newsletters
According to Carney, the Bank of England is moving to open its startup accelerator – first revealed in the transcript of a cancelled speech last summer – to additional firms.
Carney explained:
"Today we are opening our 4th round of applications to the Accelerator. We are looking to work on new proofs of concept on maintaining privacy in a distributed ledger and applying a range of big data tools to support the Bank’s analysis."
The news is the latest signal that the Bank of England is widening the scope of its work with blockchain and distributed ledgers. The central bank has emerged in the past year as one of the more proactive institutions when it comes to exploring applications of the tech.
Earlier this month, officials from the Bank of England disclosed that a new version of its real-time gross settlement (RTGS) system will be compatible with blockchain. That decision followed months of consultation on whether to take this approach, starting in September.
Recent months have also seen the central bank expand its collaborative work on blockchain. In February, the central bank became a member of the Linux Foundation-backed Hyperledger blockchain project.
Bank of England image via Shutterstock
More For You
What to know:
- As of October 2025, GoPlus has generated $4.7M in total revenue across its product lines. The GoPlus App is the primary revenue driver, contributing $2.5M (approx. 53%), followed by the SafeToken Protocol at $1.7M.
- GoPlus Intelligence's Token Security API averaged 717 million monthly calls year-to-date in 2025 , with a peak of nearly 1 billion calls in February 2025. Total blockchain-level requests, including transaction simulations, averaged an additional 350 million per month.
- Since its January 2025 launch , the $GPS token has registered over $5B in total spot volume and $10B in derivatives volume in 2025. Monthly spot volume peaked in March 2025 at over $1.1B , while derivatives volume peaked the same month at over $4B.
More For You
Robinhood Stock Slides 8% After Big Decline in November Trading Volumes
Slumps across equity, options and crypto trading in November raised concerns that retail investor momentum may be fading.
What to know:
- Robinhood reported a sharp drop in trading volumes across equities, options and crypto in November.
- The company's total platform assets also fell 5% month-over-month to $325 billion.
- The slowdown in trading activity raised investor concerns that retail engagement may be fading heading into year-end.
Top Stories
