The United Kingdom has abandoned plans to launch a government-backed “NFT for Britain,” as proposed by crypto-friendly Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.
Sunak asked the Royal Mint in April 2022 to create a “NFT for Britain” as part of the government’s “ambition to make the UK a global hub for crypto-asset technology and investment” while serving as chancellor of the Exchequer, the equivalent of a chief financial minister.The project was supposed to be completed by the summer of 2022, but it did not meet the deadline.
On March 27, when asked if the Royal Mint was still planning to issue a nonfungible token, Economic Secretary of the Treasury Andrew Griffith responded, “In consultation with HM Treasury, the Royal Mint is not proceeding with the launch of a Non-Fungible Token at this time but will keep this proposal under review.”
Harriet Baldwin, the chair of the Treasury Select Committee who raised the issue in Parliament, was quoted in a March 26 BBC report as saying, “We have not yet seen a lot of evidence that our constituents should be putting their money in these speculative tokens unless they are prepared to lose all their money.”
“Perhaps that is why the Royal Mint made this decision in collaboration with the Treasury,” she continues.
The Royal Mint and Treasury have not elaborated on what the NFTs would do or how they would be used, so the concept of NFTs for Britain appears to be quite vague. The initial announcement simply stated that more details would be announced “soon,” while critics of the plan, such as Labor MP and Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves, questioned Sunak’s priorities, calling it “hopeless.”
“The country is facing a severe cost of living crisis, which has been exacerbated by this chancellor’s decisions.” Right now, this is his top priority. “It’s hopeless,” she admitted.
