Britain to mint NFTs in the coming months

The UK’s Royal Mint has been given marching orders: Mint NFTs by summer. Just what form this will take remains to be seen, but the nation is keen on being seen as a world leader in the space.

The instructions to the Royal Mint came from Finance Minister, Rishi Sunak. It represents just one of a series of initiatives the government is undertaking to grapple with the logistical and regulatory issues of digital assets. Sunak – and the UK government – hope that the nation will come out the other end in a leadership position.

These broader initiatives include:

• Brining stablecoins within the UK’s existing regulations on electronic payments.
• Begin consulting on how to regulate trade in other (non-stablecoin) currencies, such as Bitcoin.
• Formalise the legal status of blockchain-based communities, or DAOs.
• Work through the tax implications of DeFi finance, loans, and earnings.
• Establish a cryptoasset engagement group that will bring together regulators and businesses.
• Look at how blockchain technology might be used in issuing debt instruments.

To date, the UK has been seen as fairly slow to embrace crypto and harsh on companies that operate within it. So far, just 33 firms have been approved by the regulatory body, the FCA, to trade in the nation. Several major companies have been forced to wind down their UK presence.

These steps will help the UK begin to better understand the role it can play in what has grown to become a market in excess of $2 trillion globally.