UK government plans to mint its own NFT ‘this summer’
The UK government has announced its plan to mint its own non-fungible-token (NFTs). Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak has asked the Royal Mint, the government-owned body that mints coins for the UK, to create an NFT this summer.
For the uninitiated, NFTs are any digital assets that are ‘minted’ or created on blockchain that represents ownership of virtual items. NFTs have gained alot of traction with celebrities and tech evangels jumping into the cryptocurrency bandwagon.
John Glen, Economic Secretary to the Treasury, in his speech on Monday at the Innovate Finance Global Summit during Fintech Week 2022 said, “I am announcing today that the Chancellor has asked the Royal Mint to create a non-fungible token – an NFT… to be issued the Summer, an emblem of the forward-looking approach we are determined to take,” adding that “more details on the Royal Mint’s NFTs will be available very soon.”
He also announced that Britain will be legislating to bring certain stablecoins into the payments framewor, to create sustainable conditions for stablecoin issuers and service providers to operate and grow in the UK. For the unversed, Stablecoins are cryptocurrencies whose values are tied to traditional currencies or to a commodity such as gold, to avoid the volatility that makes other cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin impractical for most commerce.
“This will also enable consumers to use stablecoin payment services with confidence… and the government will introduce this legislation, as part of an ambition to deliver a world-leading regulatory regime for stablecoins,” he noted during his speech.
Further, the UK government plans to create a taskforce to regulate crypto assets in the country. “Treasury and regulators, through the Cryptoassets Taskforce, working together to create a dynamic regulatory landscape which works for everyone,” Glen added.
“We think that making this country a hospitable place for crypto we can attract investment… generate swathes of new jobs… and create a wave of ground-breaking new products and services,” he concluded.
