The United Kingdom government has now commissioned the Royal Mint to develop a nonfungible token (NFT) as part of its push to make the nation a “global hub for crypto-asset technology”.
Rishi Sunak, Chancellor of the Exchequer, has requested for the NFT to be developed by the summer, as confirmed by the Treasury in a tweet, adding:
“This decision shows the forward-looking approach we are determined to take towards crypto assets in the UK.”
The NFTs have exploded in popularity in the past year with most of them reaching multi-million dollar valuations. Nonetheless, the industry has also gained a reputation for attracting posers, speculators, and scammers.
In that context, the announcement attracted thousands of replies and quote tweets, with most of them less than positive. One Tweeter wrote:
“Can’t wait until the treasury gets scammed out of all its NFT Royal Apes.”
Another user offered:
“I feel like the only explanation for the way the U.K. is being governed is that we’re actually in a sim and a particularly malicious programmer is running an experiment to see how far they can wind us up.”
https://twitter.com/MatofKilburnia/status/1510991065481977866
Buy Crypto NowThe Government Targets NFT, DLT, And Stablecoins
Elsewhere, reports emerged that the Treasury set out plans to introduce stablecoins within regulation which would pave their way for use in the United Kingdom as a recognized type of payment.
The government will also explore the different uses of DLT in financial markets, legislating to develop a sandbox where companies can test the technology. The government also said that it is ready to initiate a research program to explore the feasibility and possible benefits of using DLT for sovereign debt instruments.
Eventually, it will review how decentralized finance (DeFi) loans are treated for taxation. DeFi loans are incidents where holders of crypto assets lend them out for a return on their investment.
Sunak stated:
“It’s my ambition to make the UK a global hub for crypto-asset technology, and the measures we’ve outlined today will help to ensure firms can invest, innovate and scale up in this country.
“We want to see the businesses of tomorrow – and the jobs they create – here in the UK, and by regulating effectively we can give them the confidence they need to think and invest long-term.”
