Bitcoin faces an eight-year rates test as the BOE unwinds £368 billion

The Bank of England has committed to remove £368 billion of gilts held for monetary-policy purposes by September 2034, even as the first market response pointed toward easier conditions in long-dated UK debt.

The figure covers the portfolio left after the Bank separated £120 billion of longer-dated gilts to back banknotes. The Monetary Policy Committee said the remaining stock will fall by an average £46 billion a year through bond maturities and £20 billion of annual active sales.

Quantitative tightening shifts bonds from a central bank's balance sheet toward private investors. That can lift the extra yield investors demand to hold longer-dated debt, tightening financial conditions even when the policy rate stays unchanged.

The rate and balance-sheet decisions were separate votes. Six MPC members kept Bank Rate at 3.75%, while Megan Greene, Catherine Mann and Huw Pill preferred an increase to 4%. All nine members backed the multi-year gilt unwind.

Bitcoin and the slow-burn tightening channel

Implementation begins with fewer active sales to the market. The Bank's market notice said APF auctions will pause while it reviews a possible arrangement involving HM Treasury and the Debt Management Office. Operational details are due by April 2027, and the sales-to-Government model remains subject to a final decision. Gilts will continue to mature.