Beautiful Virgin Islands

Thursday, Oct 30, 2025

Rishi Sunak to launch an NFT issued by the Royal Mint to help make UK 'global cryptoasset hub'

Rishi Sunak to launch an NFT issued by the Royal Mint to help make UK 'global cryptoasset hub'

The government plans to introduce a range of measures for the notoriously unregulated cryptocurrency sector, which features incredibly volatile currencies such as Bitcoin.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak is to launch a non-fungible token (NFT) - a type of cryptocurrency asset - through the Royal Mint as part of a drive to make the UK a "global cryptoasset hub".

The government plans to introduce a range of measures for the notoriously unregulated cryptocurrency sector, which features incredibly volatile currencies such as Bitcoin.

It is starting with the easier end of that world with so-called "stablecoins" - cryptocurrencies whose values are pegged to existing traditional currencies (pounds, euros, etc), rather than the whims of the digital market.

The move to recognise "stablecoins" is intended to pave the way for the use of them as a recognised form of payment.

Bored Ape Yacht Club is among the most well-known NFT projects.


What are NFTs?


NFTs are a token of ownership attached to a blockchain. Their proponents claim they are a unique asset class, while critics say the token is fundamentally valueless and bad for the climate.

Despite this debate, more than $44bn (£32bn) worth of cryptocurrency was sent to NFT-related smart contracts last year, up from just $106m (£78m) in 2020, according to a new report published by Chainalysis.

Chainalysis, which offers a blockchain data platform for law enforcement and other organisations, has published a study identifying the scale of wash trading to artificially increase the value of NFTs.

Wash trading is a market manipulation tactic that gives the impression a financial instrument is in more demand than it actually is by trading it for higher and higher prices between accounts operated by the same actor.

What does the chancellor want?


Mr Sunak will be working with the Royal Mint on an NFT "this summer".

It comes as the Treasury plans to "ensure the UK financial services sector remains at the cutting edge of technology, attracting investment and jobs and widening consumer choice".

This will be in part achieved by "enhancing the competitiveness of the UK tax system to encourage further development of the cryptoasset market".

Mr Sunak said: "It's my ambition to make the UK a global hub for cryptoasset technology, and the measures we've outlined today will help to ensure firms can invest, innovate and scale up in this country.

"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.

"This is part of our plan to ensure the UK financial services industry is always at the forefront of technology and innovation."

It follows another government move into the cryptocurrency space in El Salvador, where the national system to support Bitcoin as legal tender crashed on the day of launch.

And in the US, mayors of New York City and Miami are engaged in a spat over who can make their cities the most crypto-friendly, despite criticisms that the financial instruments contribute to speculation rather than production.

In the UK, the Treasury said it will "proactively explore the potentially transformative benefits of Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) in UK financial markets, which enables data to be synchronised and shared in a decentralised way to potentially achieve greater efficiency, transparency and resilience".

The government has also pledged to introduce new laws creating a financial market infrastructure "sandbox" that will, it says, "enable firms to experiment and innovate in providing the infrastructure services that underpin markets, in particular by enabling DLT to be tested".

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
UK and Vietnam Sign Landmark Migration Deal to Fast-Track Returns of Irregular Arrivals
UK Drug-Pricing Overhaul Essential for Life-Sciences Ambition, Says GSK Chief
Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie Temporarily Leave the UK Amid Their Parents’ Royal Fallout
UK Weighs Early End to Oil and Gas Windfall Tax as Reeves Seeks Investment Commitments
UK Retail Inflation Slows as Shop Prices Fall for First Time Since Spring
Next Raises Full-Year Profit Guidance After Strong Third-Quarter Performance
Reform UK’s Lee Anderson Admits to 'Gaming' Benefits System While Advocating Crackdown
United States and South Korea Conclude Major Trade Accord Worth $350 Billion
Hurricane Melissa Strikes Cuba After Devastating Jamaica With Record Winds
Vice President Vance to Headline Turning Point USA Campus Event at Ole Miss
U.S. Targets Maritime Narco-Routes While Border Pressure to Mexico Remains Limited
Bill Gates at 70: “I Have a Real Fear of Artificial Intelligence – and Also Regret”
Elon Musk Unveils Grokipedia: An AI-Driven Alternative to Wikipedia
Saudi Arabia Unveils Vision for First-Ever "Sky Stadium" Suspended Over Desert Floor
Amazon Announces 14 000 Corporate Job Cuts as AI Investment Accelerates
UK Shop Prices Fall for First Time Since March, Food Leads the Decline
London Stock Exchange Group ADR (LNSTY) Earns Zacks Rank #1 Upgrade on Rising Earnings Outlook
Soap legend Tony Adams, long-time star of Crossroads, dies at 84
Rachel Reeves Signals Tax Increases Ahead of November Budget Amid £20-50 Billion Fiscal Gap
NatWest Past Gains of 314% Spotlight Opportunity — But Some Key Risks Remain
UK Launches ‘Golden Age’ of Nuclear with £38 Billion Sizewell C Approval
UK Announces £1.08 Billion Budget for Offshore Wind Auction to Boost 2030 Capacity
UK Seeks Steel Alliance with EU and US to Counter China’s Over-Capacity
UK Struggles to Balance China as Both Strategic Threat and Valued Trading Partner
Argentina’s Markets Surge as Milei’s Party Secures Major Win
British Journalist Sami Hamdi Detained by U.S. Authorities After Visa Revocation Amid Israel-Gaza Commentary
King Charles Unveils UK’s First LGBT+ Armed Forces Memorial at National Memorial Arboretum
At ninety-two and re-elected: Paul Biya secures eighth term in Cameroon amid unrest
Racist Incidents Against UK Nurses Surge by 55%
UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves Cites Shared Concerns With Trump Administration as Foundation for Early US-UK Trade Deal
Essentra plc: A Closer Look at a UK ‘Penny Stock’ Opportunity Amid Market Weakness
U.S. and China Near Deal to Avert Rare-Earth Export Controls Ahead of Trump-Xi Summit
Justin time: Justin Herbert Shields Madison Beer with Impressive Reflex at Lakers Game
Russia’s President Putin Declares Burevestnik Nuclear Cruise Missile Ready for Deployment
Giuffre’s Memoir Alleges Maxwell Claimed Sexual Act with Clooney
House Republicans Move to Strip NYC Mayoral Front-Runner Zohran Mamdani of U.S. Citizenship
Record-High Spoiled Ballots Signal Voter Discontent in Ireland’s 2025 Presidential Election
Philippines’ Taal Volcano Erupts Overnight with 2.4 km Ash Plume
Albania’s Virtual AI 'Minister' Diella Set to 'Birth' Eighty-Three Digital Assistants for MPs
Tesla Unveils Vision for Optimus V3 as ‘Biggest Product of All Time’, Including Surgical Capabilities
Francis Ford Coppola Auctions Luxury Watches After Self-Financed Film Flop
Convicted Sex Offender Mistakenly Freed by UK Prison Service Arrested in London
United States and China Begin Constructive Trade Negotiations Ahead of Trump–Xi Summit
U.S. Treasury Sanctions Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro over Drug-Trafficking Allegations
Miss USA Crowns Nebraska’s Audrey Eckert Amid Leadership Overhaul
‘I Am Not Done’: Kamala Harris Signals Possible 2028 White House Run
NBA Faces Integrity Crisis After Mass Arrests in Gambling Scandal
Swift Heist at the Louvre Sees Eight French Crown Jewels Stolen in Under Seven Minutes
U.S. Halts Trade Talks with Canada After Ontario Ad Using Reagan Voice Triggers Diplomatic Fallout
Microsoft AI CEO: ‘We’re making an AI that you can trust your kids to use’ — but can Microsoft rebuild its own trust before fixing the industry’s?
×