Plans For Royal Mint NFT Dropped By UK Government (bbc.com) 12
Plans for a government backed non-fungible token (NFT) produced by the Royal Mint have been dropped, the Treasury has announced. The BBC reports: Rishi Sunak ordered the creation of a "NFT for Britain" that could be traded online, while chancellor in April 2022. The Treasury announced it was "not proceeding with the launch" following a consultation with the Royal Mint. But economic secretary Andrew Griffiths said the department would keep the proposal "under review."
Responding to the announcement, Harriet Baldwin, chair of the Treasury Select Committee, 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 Treasury is working to regulate some cryptocurrencies and had planned to enter the NFT market as part of a wider bid to make the UK a hub for digital payment companies. In April 2022, the then-chancellor Mr Sunak said: "We want to see the [cryptocurrency] 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."
Responding to the announcement, Harriet Baldwin, chair of the Treasury Select Committee, 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 Treasury is working to regulate some cryptocurrencies and had planned to enter the NFT market as part of a wider bid to make the UK a hub for digital payment companies. In April 2022, the then-chancellor Mr Sunak said: "We want to see the [cryptocurrency] 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."
Is anyone in the UK surprised? (Score:3)
Most promises from politicians can be ignored, and those that do end up being partly implemented [ie public funds going to Tory [1] party supporters and minister's chums] fizzle out.
Initiatives (especially eye catching "cool & trendy" [2] ones) have a life expectancy comparable to a Google product. They're announced for much the same reason - to attract attention to a promised good and distract attention from whatever is happening that they don't want people to see or think about.
[1] it's not just them, but they are far and away the most egregious bunch and some of the most corrupt in living memory.
[2] deliberately dated language to emulate the out of touch politician's approach to try [and fail] to appeal to a mass market
Re: (Score:2)
He is however less well thought of among his colleagues than Liz Truss, which ought to embarrass him, but apparently doesn't.
These are the same people who have made Britain's economy the worst performing one in the world.
Nobody should take anything he says seriously.
Re: (Score:2)
"dropped" (Score:2)
"Dropped" now means "it is happening" though, due to stupid people.
'Ok here's the link to the jpeg'... (Score:2)
#1) Ok now what?
#2) We sell it.
#1) Then?
#2) Nothing, we have their money.
#1) This is a stupid thing for a government to get involved with...
#2) But...
#1) Just get out.
There's no magic here (Score:2)
It's a straight forward process to make the UK a hub for digital payments. Pick an open blockchain with ISO 20022 support like Stellar Lumens or Ripple/XRPL and just implement an official layer 2 coin like Ukraine [coindesk.com] and Brazil [crypto-news-flash.com].
The problem is that CBDCs are a political response to use the wrong tool to fix the wrong problem. Implementing CBDCs won't help the ECB, Bank of England and the Fed keep markets stable because what is destabilizing markets is state policy on a host of issues ranging from banking regula
Re: (Score:2)
The problem is that CBDCs are a political response to use the wrong tool to fix the wrong problem. Implementing CBDCs won't help the ECB, Bank of England and the Fed keep markets stable...
They might actually make things a hell of a lot worse. Remember when the UK was essentially forced to leave the ERM [london.edu] as a result of 'currency manipulation' by a single investor (George Soros)? Remember when a bank run [fortune.com], somewhat ironically caused by a single investment fund, left a bank insolvent?
The only thing CBDC's do that the current system doesn't (or at least can't - I'll admit that payment tracking tends to fall down a bit when money bounces between multiple banks in multiple jurisdictions, right now)
UK Tory government & "easy wins" (Score:2)
This is just so typical of the current government of the United Kingdom.
They thrive on big headlines that are easy to implement and sound great at the time, but generally bring absolutely no use whatsoever to the citizens of the country.
It's a case of bandwagon jumping without having a clue exactly what the wagon they are jumping on actually is, except the media is talking about it a lot, so it must be good, right?
I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if there was never any intention to do this in the first