UK Treasury Cancels Plans for Government-Backed NFT but proposal remains under review.

Proposed initially in April 2022, the Royal Mint's plans are not moving forward “at this time” but the proposal will remain under review.

The U.K. Treasury is cancelling its plans to release a government-backed non-fungible token (NFT) aimed at making the United Kingdom a global crypto hub.

Initially proposed by United Kingdom Prime Minister Rishi Sunak when he was chancellor in April 2022, the Royal Mint was tasked with releasing the token by the summer of 2022 however it faced delays. The Royal Mint had previously hinted at plans for utilising blockchain technology to track its gold supply in 2017.

In a statement on Monday, the U.K.’s economic secretary Andrew Griffith said that the plans were not moving forward “at this time” but that the proposal would remain under review. Chair of the Treasury Select Committee Harriet Baldwin said that the government’s chief financial minister would be asked if issuing an NFT “remains the policy of his department.”

In recent times other global leaders have shown a willingness to embrace NFTs and other Web3 technologies. In October, Japan announced plans to invest in the country’s digital transformation through NFTs and metaverse services. In January, China launched an NFT and digital asset marketplace, despite its otherwise strict cryptocurrency regulations.