What does ‘GBP’ mean
GBP is the abbreviation for the British pound sterling, the official currency of the United Kingdom, the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia, the South Sandwich Islands and British Antarctic Territory and the U.K. crown dependencies: the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands. The African country of Zimbabwe also uses the pound. The British pound is pegged to the Falkland Islands pound, Gibraltar pound, Saint Helenian pound, Jersey pound (JEP), Guernsey pound (GGP), Manx pounds, Scotland notes and Northern Ireland notes.
Explaining ‘GBP’
The British pound has one of the highest trading volumes in the world, trailing only the U.S. dollar, euro and Japanese yen in daily volume. The British pound accounts for about 13% of the daily trading volume in foreign exchange markets. In addition to the nickname “quid,” the British pound is sometimes referred to by the name sterling.
History of the British Pound
The British pound became the official currency of the United Kingdom when England and Scotland united to form a single country in 1707. However, the British pound was first created as a form of money in the year 760. The British pound is the oldest currency in the world that is still used as legal tender.
Interesting Facts
In addition to the United Kingdom, the British pound has previously served as currency in many of the colonies of the British Empire including Australia, New Zealand and Canada. Prior to 1855, when it began printing British pound notes, the Bank of England wrote all notes by hand. The U.K. is a member of the European Union but uses the British pound and not the euro as its currency.
Further Reading
- Change in unconditional foreign exchange rate volatility: an analysis of the GBP and USD price of the Euro from 2002 to 2003 – www.tandfonline.com [PDF]
- Centralized and decentralized bitcoin markets: Euro vs USD vs GBP – www.sciencedirect.com [PDF]
- The economics of infrastructure finance: Public-private partnerships versus public provision – www.econstor.eu [PDF]
- Blockchain, Fintech and Islamic Finance – www.degruyter.com [PDF]
- Dynamic linkages among Bitcoin, gold prices and exchange rates of US Dollar in JPY, GBP and CNY: DCC EGARCH approach – www.ceeol.com [PDF]
- Economics and finance: q-statistical stylized features galore – www.mdpi.com [PDF]
