UK’s NFT plans still on course, officials say

• UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, while in office as the Chancellor of the Exchequer in April, asked the Royal Mint to create a government-backed NFT.

The Royal Mint, the UK’s official coin maker, has confirmed plans for a government-backed non-fungible token (NFT) remain in place, according to a Financial News report published on Tuesday.

Per the publication, officials at the Royal Mint confirmed the NFT plan was on course despite challenges such as the bear market crash that hit cryptocurrencies and the exit of several prominent figures at the HM Treasury.

The Royal Mint’s statement was in response to a Freedom of Information Act request, the FN report stated.

UK prime minister is ‘crypto-friendy’

In April this year, then Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak asked the Royal Mint to work on a UK-backed NFT, with plans to issue the token by summer. The announcement was part of a broader push to make the UK a ‘crypto hub’, with several crypto-friendly officials at the Treasury and in parliament helping to advance the agenda.

But Sunak was among top-level government officials to quit in July this year as former Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government crumbled.

It appeared the then Finance Minister’s resignation had thrown a spanner into the NFT works, but things have taken a sharp turn and Sunak is now the UK prime minister.

Industry observers say the entry of a crypto-friendly figure at 10 Downing Street could be a big win for crypto in the country. 

NFTs are set to bounce after the lull occasioned by the crypto bear market, and as Galaxy Digital recently highlighted, creators earned over $1.8 billion in royalties from Ethereum-based NFTs.

As CoinJournal reported in July, even the English FA rolled out plans for its own NFT launch, amid broader adoption of the technology across the globe.