According to Odaily, the Bank of England is set to launch the 'Digital Pound Lab' this year as part of its blueprint for the potential design phase of a central bank digital currency (CBDC). The lab will operate in a sandbox environment, facilitating practical experiments on CBDC APIs, innovative use cases, and potential business models. As outlined in the Bank of England's digital pound progress report released on Tuesday, the lab will serve as a platform for collaboration with private sector partners to explore functionalities and technological innovations. This initiative aims to provide insights for the UK's payment and technology sectors during the ongoing design phase.