We’ve learned the UK Royal Mint will create an NFT as part of an initiative to embrace fintech and technologies emerging from the rapidly growing industry.
News that the UK Royal Mint will create an NFT arrived via the UK’s Economic Secretary to the Treasury John Glen, who gave a speech on April 4 as part of the Innovative Financial Global Summit.
Speaking on behalf of Her Majesty’s Treasury Chancellor Rishi Sunak, Glen discussed the potential for technologies like blockchain and cryptocurrencies to drive economic growth.
He also acknowledged some of the legal and environmental concerns surrounding the technology, such as potentially bypassing sanctions against countries like Russia.
“On Russia specifically, the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation has published a joint statement with the FCA and Bank of England reiterating that crypto-asset firms are required to play their part in ensuring that sanctions are enforced, and offering guidance on how to do that.”
Additionally, the Secretary expressed an interest in positioning the UK as a leader in the fintech space by moving rapidly to resolve these problems and implement DeFi and stablecoins in their economic framework.
“Unlike the EU and US, the UK has a small number of regulators, and central government sets the overall framework and can take decisive action. So, we can move very nimbly.”
Toward the end of his speech, Glen stated that the Chancellor asked the UK Royal Mint to create an NFT that will be issued this summer, with more details to be announced soon.
This speech from an influential figure in UK’s economy signals an intention for the country to embrace fintech in a way that mirrors recent statements from the US government.
Interestingly, Glen stated in his speech that the UK was “second only to the U.S. worldwide” as a “fintech hub,” with seemingly no mention of South America’s enthusiastic adoption of Bitcoin, nor the monumental strides China has made in CBDCs that overshadow both countries’ comparatively half-hearted efforts.
By requesting the UK Royal Mint to create an NFT, this move is a step further than recent actions taken by the Federal Reserve in the United States.
But by neglecting to include a wider context, the rest of Glen’s speech seems to be vague theorizing that further demonstrates established power structures’ ignorance of this technology, how it will inevitably render many of their regulating bodies obsolete, and how they are ultimately powerless to change its trajectory.
This is Niche Gamer Tech. In this column, we regularly cover tech and things related to the tech industry. Please leave feedback and let us know if there’s tech or a story you want us to cover!
