UK government not going forward with NFT issuance

The government of the United Kingdom has dropped plans to issue a non-fungible token (NFT), which was first proposed in April 2022 and scheduled for issuance in June 2022. 

The United Kingdom’s Economic Secretary to the Treasury, Andrew Griffith, said the Royal Mint had canceled plans to launch a government-backed token.

Griffith’s statement was in response to a question by Harriet Baldwin, chair of the Treasury Select Committee, who asked if there was still a plan for the Royal Mint to issue an NFT.

“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.”

Andrew Griffith, UK’s Economic Secretary to the Treasury

In April 2022, the former Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak, the current UK prime minister, asked the Royal Mint to create an NFT to be circulated by the summer of 2022. The proposed creation of NFTs was part of Sunak’s plans to make Britain a hub for crypto innovation and development. 

Read more: The cryptoverse sees Rishi Sunak’s plans to make UK a crypto hub as a ‘late call’

Meanwhile, a statement by Baldwin in response to Griffith’s answer, as quoted in a BBC report, said:

“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. So perhaps that is why the Royal Mint has made this decision in conjunction with the Treasury.”

The United Kingdom recently expressed concerns about the NFT sector, with legislators noting the absence of a regulatory framework for NFTs. In November 2022, lawmakers launched an inquiry into the advantages and risks of non-fungible tokens. 

Also, the UK advertising regulator, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), banned an NFT ad by Crypto.com and Turtle United in December 2022, claiming that the promotions were misleading. 

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