The Bank of England will remove £368 billion of gilts held for monetary-policy purposes by September 2034, after setting aside £120 billion of longer-dated gilts to support banknotes. The Monetary Policy Committee voted unanimously for the unwind, targeting average annual runoff of £46 billion through maturities and £20 billion of active sales. Bank Rate remained 3.75% after a six-member majority vote, while Megan Greene, Catherine Mann and Huw Pill preferred 4%. The Bank will pause APF auctions while it reviews a possible sales arrangement involving HM Treasury and the Debt Management Office, with operational details due by April 2027. Initial market trading pointed to easier conditions in long-dated UK debt, as the 10-year gilt yield fell more than 7 basis points and the 30-year yield nearly 10 basis points. The Bank estimates quantitative tightening (reducing a central bank's bond holdings) contributed 20 to 30 basis points of the roughly 200-basis-point increase in long-term gilt term premia since 2022. Bitcoin traded near $78,000, but the available snapshots could not establish a direct response to the announcement. The decision sets an eight-year test of whether predictable central-bank balance-sheet reduction can affect global yields, risk appetite and Bitcoin.