(Commonwealth Union)_ Cryptocurrency corporations and investors in the United Kingdom have high hopes that new Prime Minister Rishi Sunak may revive Britain’s waning crypto ambitions. The new leader of the United Kingdom, who was finance minister in former Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government, faces a hard task, including reversing the economic damage left by his predecessor, Liz Truss. Although cryptocurrency isn’t high on his priority list, industry experts believe there’s cause to be positive.
Sunak, a former Goldman Sachs analyst, has regularly stated his support for cryptocurrencies. In April, while acting as the country’s finance minister, he unveiled a comprehensive strategy to transform Britain into a global crypto hub. This includes convincing the Royal Mint, the official coin manufacturer of the United Kingdom, to produce a nonfungible token and putting stablecoins into the legal framework.
In June, Sunak declared he was “determined” to make the UK “the jurisdiction of choice for crypto and blockchain technologies” at a cocktail gathering hosted by the venture capital firm Index Ventures.
London-based Mehdi Sunderji, an investment sector veteran with over 20 years of experience, told Outlook Money that while the UK may be a small fish in a huge global pond, it still carries weight as a thought leader and “influencer” regardless of current political developments. “He is already moving things forward with UK politicians, who are already recognising crypto as a regulated financial instrument,” Sunderji said.
Furthermore, on October 25, 2022, the House of Commons, the lower house of the UK Parliament, voted in favour of recognising bitcoin assets as regulated financial products and instruments. However, following weeks of political unrest, crypto firms and investors are wondering what he would do to bolster the industry, which is still licking its wounds after a few painful months for digital asset prices and a string of corporate bankruptcies.
