The UK government intends to issue its own non-fungible token (NFT). It will be a "emblem of the forward-thinking approach" the country is taking toward crypto assets. According to John Glen, Britain's minister responsible for financial services.
The NFT will be issued at the request of the UK finance minister, Rishi Sunak, the institution in charge of minting the country's hard currency.
Glen also confirmed the British government's intention to regulate the crypto industry. He talked in a speech at the Innovative Finance summit in London on Monday, saying that it had heard some "valid" concerns about the risks involved.
"If crypto-technologies are going to be a big part of the future, then the UK want to be in. Also we want to be in on the ground floor," he said.
Glen stated that the government will begin to regulate some stablecoins. This coins are cryptocurrencies that are pegged to the value of fiat currency or commodities in order to reduce volatility. In order to bring them in line with current payment provider rules.
"Consumers will also be able to use stablecoin payment services with confidence as a result of this," he added.
The UK's plans reflect a more aggressive approach to crypto-assets taken by a number of governments in recent years.
Crypto supporters argue that the technology will make payments faster, easier, and more transparent. While detractors argue that it could be used for illegal activity such as money laundering. Also it has a high carbon footprint due to the high computing power required to process transactions.
The European Parliament proposed in March to make crypto transactions traceable. In the same way that traditional banking transactions. US President Joe Biden took a step toward regulating crypto when he signed an executive order on digital assets. This aimed at mitigating the potential risks they pose to consumers and institutions.
Crypto traders who buy and sell assets such as Bitcoin may also face regulation, according to Glen.
"We believe the market has changed sufficiently for us to consider regulating a broader set of crypto activities. It including token trading such as Bitcoin," he said.
"We will also consult on a world-leading regime for the rest of the cryptocurrency market. A regime that will allow for safe, long-term, and, hopefully, rapid innovation "
Glen stated that the UK tax implications of investments in decentralized finance (DeFi) instruments and cryptocurrency staking will be investigated.
The United Kingdom's plan to mint an NFT comes at a time when interest in the space appears to be waning.
Sales on OpenSea, the largest NFT marketplace, reached nearly €4.5 billion in January. It is up from €7.2 million the previous year, but fell to around €2.2 billion last month.
According to market tracker CryptoSlam, approximately 635,000 people purchased an NFT in March, paying an average of $427 (€389). This figure is down from approximately 948,000 buyers who spent an average of $659 (€600) in January of this year.
The United Kingdom would not be the first country to issue its own official NFT.
Slovenia's Ministry of Economic Development and Technology announced last year that it would mint a set of NFTs. NFTs to give away to visitors to the country's pavilion at the 2020 Dubai World Expo.
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