Speeches by Baldwin.

“It was whether you ever have.”

“We have a 50/50 split on that. The market participants there perhaps have a bit of an interest in the Bank not doing it.”

“May I ask a quick yes/no of the panel on whether the Bank of England should launch its own central bank digital currency?”

“You said she would not have a bank account.”

“You would have to buy—”

“On Mr Butterfill’s use case of the Iranian woman fleeing violence, she would have to have either been given a wallet or paid for a wallet. Presumably these are exactly the same characteristics that would make it valuable to someone who is an ISIS fighter, for example.”

“Yes, it is down to $8 now.”

“I appreciate what the definitions are. I wondered whether you wanted to comment on Russia being the leading market in Europe.”

“It is a medium of exchange.”

“You are talking about bitcoin. As I understand it, in Russia, Professor Broby, crypto is the biggest market. It has taken off there presumably because other mediums of exchange are not as well trusted by the general population. Is it really such a badge of honour for us to aim to be the biggest market for cryptoassets …”

“It is a finite commodity, is it not?”

“Mr Butterfill, you wanted to come in on this. I am not entirely convinced that 18-year-olds in my constituency should suddenly be given unfettered access to playing around in these things.”

“You are not in line to be the next UK ambassador to the United States, so don’t hold back.”

“For example, would you describe the Trump meme coin as an investment that you think an 18-year-old in my constituency would benefit from owning? That is something that launched, I understand, at about $60 and is trading at about $8 today.”

“They would be businesses as well.”

“You keep saying “asset class”, but it is not really an asset. A cryptocurrency is more a medium of exchange, is it not?”

“Mr Taylor, how would my constituents benefit from more widespread access to cryptoassets in the UK?”

“To go back to the 18-year-old constituent, you said that there is a benefit to that 18-year-old of investing in a cryptoasset. Can you elaborate a bit more on why it is beneficial to them that that should be something that they can access more easily than traditional stocks and shares?”

“You say that there is demand for it. Is it as something to speculate in or gamble with, in effect?”

“Mr Butterfill, I believe that it is correct to say that 7 million Brits have at some point held a cryptocurrency of some sort. That suggests that it is already quite well established in the UK.”