NFT: Plans for Royal Mint produced token dropped by government

Plans for a authorities backed non-fungible token (NFT) produced by the Royal Mint person been dropped, the Treasury has announced.

Rishi Sunak ordered the instauration of a "NFT for Britain" that could beryllium traded online, portion chancellor successful April 2022.

NFTs are assets successful the integer satellite that tin beryllium bought and sold, but which person nary carnal signifier of their own.

The Treasury announced it was "not proceeding with the launch" pursuing a consultation with the Royal Mint.

But economical caput Andrew Griffiths said the section would support the connection "under review".

NFTs person been touted arsenic the integer reply to collectables, but immoderate sceptics fearfulness they could beryllium a bubble waiting to burst. They person been utilized arsenic speculative assets and immoderate person sold for millions of dollars.

Responding to the announcement, Harriet Baldwin, seat of the Treasury Select Committee, said: "We person not yet seen a batch of grounds that our constituents should beryllium putting their wealth successful these speculative tokens unless they are prepared to suffer each their money.

"So possibly that is wherefore the Royal Mint has made this determination successful conjunction with the Treasury."

NFTs are unsocial units of integer information that usage the aforesaid "blockchain" exertion down cryptocurrencies - specified arsenic Bitcoin. The records cannot beryllium forged due to the fact that the blockchain ledger is maintained by thousands of computers astir the world.

The integer tokens, which emerged successful 2014, tin beryllium thought of arsenic certificates of ownership for virtual oregon carnal assets, and tin beryllium bought utilizing accepted currency oregon cryptocurrency.

The Treasury is moving to modulate immoderate cryptocurrencies and had planned to participate the NFT marketplace arsenic portion of a wider bid to marque the UK a hub for integer outgo companies.

In April 2022, the then-chancellor Mr Sunak said: "We privation to spot the [cryptocurrency] businesses of time - and the jobs they make - present successful the UK, and by regulating efficaciously we tin springiness them the assurance they request to deliberation and put long-term."

Among the best-known NFTs are a bid known arsenic the "Bored Ape Yacht Club", which springiness the bearer ownership implicit a unsocial representation of a cartoon ape. Prices of the NFTs plummeted past twelvemonth aft crypto speech FTX went bankrupt.