Rishi Sunak asked the Royal Mint to create a special NFT to be issued by the summer.

The UK government is taking crypto seriously. The Chancellor wants the token to be issued by the summer. The special NFT will back a ‘collectable digital artwork’ which the Royal Mint will add to its range of products. 

While countries like Ukraine have issued NFTs before, this particular announcement feels a bit different — for one, it’s coming from one of the highest levels of the British government. It’s also supposed to be carried out by the entity in charge of printing the country’s money.

A Non-Fungible Token (NFT) is a one-of-a-kind digital asset that belongs to its owners only. In order to create an NFT one would have to mint an NFT from a digital asset. Popular NFTs include digital works, digital collectibles, videos, and anything that can be digitalized.

NFTs give investors a share of ownership of a digital asset such as a piece of art or music.

© HM Treasury

The Treasury’s announcement did not specify what image or object the Royal Mint’s NFT would confer ownership of.

Rishi Sunak aims to show that Britain is at the cutting edge for new technologies by launching its own cryptoasset. The Financial Conduct Authority has already been experimenting through a regulatory sandbox, and plans its first in a series of policy "crypto-sprints" this May.

“This decision shows the forward-looking approach we are determined to take towards cryptoassets in the UK,” the Treasury said on Twitter, posting a picture of the royal coat of arms on a blue background.

NFTs use the unique blockchain value to confer ownership of something – whether tangible or virtual – with pieces of digital art, photographs or music increasingly popular. Typically bought and sold by collectors, some NFTs have soared in value and are worth millions of pounds, as buyers use them to flaunt their taste or wealth, or speculate on the price gyrations to make money.

Sunak said it was his ambition to make the UK a global hub for cryptoasset technology through close oversight of the emerging sector. “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.”

The UK government said it intends to legislate to bring stablecoins – digital assets usually pegged to a fiat currency such as the pound or the dollar – into its regulatory regime, meaning issuers and services providers offering such products in the UK would need to follow rules set by UK authorities.