United Kingdom wants to be a crypto-assets hub; to mint its own NFT

Britain pledged on Monday to make the country a crypto-asset hub, paving the path for stablecoin, backed by national currencies, to become a widely accepted payment method.

"It's my ambition to make the UK a global hub for crypto-asset technology, and the measures we've outlined today will help to ensure firms can invest, innovate and scale up in this country," said finance minister Rishi Sunak.

"We want to see the businesses of tomorrow -- and the jobs they create -- here in the UK, and by regulating effectively we can give them the confidence they need to think and invest long-term."

Sunak has also commissioned the Royal Mint, Britain's official coin producer, to create a non-fungible token (NFT).

"The government has today announced moves that will see stablecoins recognised as a valid form of payment as part of wider plans to make Britain a global hub for crypto-asset technology and investment," said a Treasury statement.

Stablecoins will be regulated as part of a package of measures aimed at keeping the UK finance sector on the "cutting edge" of technology.

"Appropriate regulation... could provide a more efficient means of payment and widen customer choice," in the sector the Treasury noted.

Stablecoins do not experience the price swings that cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin have seen since they are backed by one or more national currencies with a nearlyfixed rate of exchange.

The Treasury is also looking into methods to improve"the competitiveness of the UK tax system to encourage further development" of the market.

The thriving cryptocurrency industry, as well as its expanding economic significance, is being keenly monitored around the world.

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The United States has also started work on developing a digital dollar, joining more than a hundred other countries that are experimenting with or have already launched pilot projects with their own central bank digital currency.

Regulators, on the other hand, are not thatexcited about the sector.

Virtual currencies are the "new front line" for criminal schemes, according to Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey.

Last month, Christine Lagarde, the head of the European Central Bank, expressed worry that crypto units were being used as a way to dodge sanctions against Russia over the conflict in Ukraine.

(With inputs from agencies)