Rishi Sunak is set to take on the role as UK Prime Minister as the country struggles with a dire economic outlook. Seemingly keen on the crypto, the young PM may look to this major paradigm shift for the financial miracle he seeks.
In recent months, the UK has had four chancellor of the Exchequer, three home secretaries, two monarchs and now a third Prime Minister. Indeed, September’s loser is now October’s winner, and UK politics is actually Italian politics.
Liz Truss, who served for a record-breaking 45 days announced her resignation following a barrage of criticism over seemingly unattainable fiscal policies. Now, Sunak – a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) proponent – is expected to sort the country’s finances during his tentative stay as Prime Minister.
4 chancellor of the exchequer, 3 home secretaries, 2 monarchs and now a 3rd prime minister. pic.twitter.com/sYlrrWCsEh
— Chris on crUPto (@ChrisOnCrypto1) October 26, 2022
UK Crypto Regulation
During his stint as the Finance Minister, Sunak brought in the Financial Services and Markets Bill, which, if passed, would offer domestic regulators more leverage over crypto markets by bringing stablecoins under the purview of payment regulations.
Sunak recommended the creation of additional regulations that would further advance the incorporation of crypto into the United Kingdom’s economic and legal framework, thus spurring greater investment in the space as well as adoption.
The measures we’ve outlined today will help to ensure firms can invest, innovate and scale up in this country.
Sunak also revealed plans to transform the country into a so-called crypto hub, assigning the UK’s coin producer – the Royal Mint – to create a non-fungible token (NFT) collection which was supposed to be ready by summer but has yet to be released.
Cryptocurrencies aren’t going away. Buy Bitcoin & Litecoin here.
Central Bank Digital Currency Supporter
Sunak’s selection, which is expected to be temporary, as the new Prime Minister is noteworthy given his full endorsement of CBDCs.
The new UK Prime Minister is pushing heavily to introduce a CBDC
The 🇬🇧 UK needs #Bitcoin
pic.twitter.com/r8yLrPmV3c— Bitcoin Magazine (@BitcoinMagazine) October 24, 2022
Sunak voiced favour in creating another fiat-money in the UK, dubbed Britcoin, at the Bank of England in October last year. He highlighted that a CBDC could “offer businesses and consumers new ways to pay.” Shortly thereafter, Sunak announced a joint task force between the Treasury and central bank to study the workings of CBDCs as a complement to cash and bank deposits.
There was no mention of the truly tantalising utility a CBDC provides Central Bankers, however. That is, direct access to ordinary people’s bank accounts and the ability to code when and where citizens can spend their money (IOUs). In China, this is called a social credit system.
Cryptocurrency backers tend to oppose the idea of legal tender being directly controlled and financed by the currency issuer, largely because this has never ended well historically speaking. There are also financial surveillance and privacy concerns surrounding the technology which do not exist with truly global and public blockchains like BTC and LTC.
Sceptics believe Sunak is a Trojan horse that will introduce the dystopian technology en masse, potentially harming Bitcoin and Litecoin adoption.
One such is Bitcoin investor Preston Pysh who tweeted,
Where have you seen anywhere that this guy has uttered the word Bitcoin? A wolf dressed in sheep’s clothing is one who runs around saying “crypto” and talks about CBDCs. I’d argue potentially more dangerous than people who have no clue.
However, given that centrally controlled currency is neither innovative nor desirable, concerns could be mitigated through public Bitcoin and Litecoin education.
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