Wales to launch digital currency for businesses

Robert Stevens


Tucked away in the corner of the United Kingdom, the country of Wales has made plans to launch its own digital currency, the Welsh government confirmed last Monday.

The currency, called Celyn, would be a digital currency network to help businesses trade amongst each other without using the Great British Pound. Businesses could trade in credits, not cash, that would then be re-used in the local economy. There is no mention of it running on a blockchain.

Celyn is created by community interest company Circular Economy Wales, and is being awarded £100,000 from the Welsh government’s £4 million Foundational Economy Challenge Funds. It could boost the Welsh economy by £250 million over the next ten years, according to an event page by Circular Economy Wales. A consultation on the Celyn will begin at the Circular Economy Wales conference on November 7, with a proposed pilot due to take place in North Wales next year.

It could also relieve economic tensions created by Brexit—Britain’s unresolved exit from the European Union that could happen in as soon as two weeks. Circular Economy Wales has looked outside of the UK for inspiration. Its CEO, Eifion Williams, said that Celyn, which is mostly aimed at businesses, is based on the Sardinian mutual credit system, Sardex.

"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,” said Williams.

Indeed, the founder of Sardex, Dr Paolo Dini, will support the project.

"The fact that it is electronic makes traceability easy, which leads to tax transparency and ultimately better tax compliance," Dini told Decrypt.

"The (micro)economic advantages for participating businesses are mainly from the zero-interest working capital and the increase in number of clients arising from import substitution," he said.

Wales isn't the only country looking to launch a digital currency; the Chinese government is planning to put its national currency, the Yuan, on the blockchain.