Bank of England could issue its own Bitcoin-style currency within a year cutting out the need for high street banks

The Bank of England could approve its own Bitcoin-style currency within a year.
A research unit set up by the bank to investigate the possibility of issuing a crypto-currency could report back within the next 12 months, paving the way for the system to be introduced.
The new currency would be linked to the value of sterling and could allow people to keep their money with the central bank itself, cutting out the need for a retail bank.