Treasury chancellor Rishi Sunak wants UK's Royal Mint to create an NFT

In an interesting turn of events in the world of NFTs, UK’s Treasury Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak, has asked the Royal Mint to create a non-fungible token (NFT).

The reason behind the request is reportedly as a way to show “the forward-looking approach we are determined to take towards cryptoassets in the UK,” as noted by a tweet from the official Twitter account for Her Majesty’s Treasury.

In a news story posted to gov.uk regarding government plans to make UK a global cryptoasset technology hub, a general timeline is provided on when NFT enthusiasts can look forward to learning more about the Royal Mint’s first foray into NFTs, with the post noting plans to work with the Royal Mint on the NFT “this summer.”

As of right now, it’s unclear how this NFT will work, what funds generated by the NFT will be used for, what image the Royal Mint’s NFT will feature, how many of these NFTs will be minted, and whether the Royal Mint will create additional NFTs in the future.

According to a Treasury spokesperson, more details will be announced soon. As reported by The Guardian, Sunak has stated: “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.”

Other items on the docket per the post on gov.uk include the following bullet points:

Stablecoins to be brought within regulation paving their way for use in the UK as a recognised form of payment.
Announcement part of a series of measures to make the UK a global hub for cryptoasset technology and investment.
Measures include legislating for a ‘financial market infrastructure sandbox’ to help firms innovate, an FCA-led ‘CryptoSprint’, working with the Royal Mint on an NFT, and an engagement group to work more closely with industry.

Sunak’s request to have the Royal Mint create an NFT is one that’s been met with raised eyebrows given the state of things in the UK when, according to The Guardian, over a million people in Britain are at risk of falling into poverty due to rising costs of living and unprecedented levels of inflation.

All in all, it’ll be interesting to see what the Royal Mint’s NFT amounts to, how successful it’ll be (or if it’ll be an underwhelming flop), and whether other governments will follow with similar NFT pursuits.

For more on NFTs, be sure to read through our article on Ubisoft’s investment in the NFT game, Cross the Ages.