Chancellor Rishi Sunak has instructed the Royal Mint to create the UK government’s first-ever NFT.
UK Treasury Announces NFT
The Twitter handle of Her Majesty’s Treasury made the official announcement regarding the upcoming NFT collection, also adding that the decision indicates a crypto-forward approach being adopted by the UK government.
Chancellor Rishi Sunak said,
“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.”
Royal Mint NFT Launch ‘This Summer’
NFTs or non-fungible tokens are digital tokens that record information regarding digital and real assets on the blockchain, which functions as a digital ledger. These tokens provide an untamperable, public certificate of authenticity or proof of ownership over assets like images, video clips, audio files, documents, etc. 2021 was a pivotal year for NFTs, as they raked in millions of dollars in funds from investors bullish on the application of these tokens in the metaverse.
As per initial reports, the Royal Mint NFT will be dropping ‘this summer’ as a part of the country’s initiative to introduce and familiarize digital assets in the mainstream. The Treasury has revealed its intentions to consistently keep the UK financial services sector updated with cutting-edge technology to draw in more investors, create new employment opportunities, and increase consumers’ offerings.
Stablecoins On The Line Too
Along with the NFT collection, Sunak has also revealed plans of introducing stablecoins as a payment channel in the UK. Stablecoins are a special category of digital currencies whose value is directly pegged to normal currencies. Therefore, when used to pay for items, they follow the same regulations as normal currencies. Regular cryptocurrencies like BTC are highly susceptible to market fluctuations, with their values dropping drastically in a short span.
Since stablecoins are directly linked to a traditional currency, their value changes only when the currency they are pegged to changes. Therefore the pound-linked stablecoin, as suggested by the Chancellor, will rise in price against the dollar when sterling gains on the international market. Therefore, it will be a more profitable and relatively risk-free digital payment option than Bitcoin or any other cryptocurrencies.
Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.
