Remember last April when the British government decided to showcase its "forward-looking approach to crypto assets in the UK" by instructing the Royal Mint to create a state-backed "NFT For Britain" (opens in new tab)? You may not know this, as he was Prime Minister a few years ago. In any case, these plans have now been scuttled.

Well, sort of. Economic Secretary Andrew Griffiths said yesterday (open in new tab) that "The Royal Mint is not proceeding with the launch of the Non-Fungible Token as a result of discussions with the UK Treasury. Just in case the NFT suddenly becomes a really good idea.

Griffiths did not specify the specific reasons that led the Treasury and Royal Mint to abandon the national NFT initiative, but that did not stop other members of the government from speculating. Harriet Baldwin, chair of the Treasury Select Committee, told the BBC (open in new tab), "We have yet to see much evidence that voters should invest their money in these speculative tokens unless they are prepared to lose all their money."

That may indeed be the case. Whatever the reason, one should not take this as a sign that Britain's latest prime minister is a crypto skeptic. Indeed, the current Prime Minister, Rishi Snack, who ordered the creation of the NFT when he was Prime Minister under Boris Johnson in 2022, is on record as a strong supporter of crypto (open in new tab) and blockchain technology. the historic collapse of the FTX (open in new tab) is fresh in our minds. new, but the government may not want to toot its crypto horn too loudly.

But don't worry, crypto fans. The UK currently has several irons in the blockchain fire, including a public consultation on the creation of a "digital pound" (opens in new tab), which is scheduled to conclude this June. This consultation is expected to conclude in June of this year. If all goes well (or not), a "new form of digital money for households and businesses to use for everyday payments" will be introduced in the UK: a central bank digital currency, similar to those already pioneered in China, Canada, and several other countries around the world (opens in new tab) They are very similar. Like it or not, the future is now.