Despite a crash in cryptocurrencies and key treasury personnel leaving the project, the UK treasury is continuing its plans to develop a state-sponsored NFT, according to the Telegraph.
“We are firmly committed to putting the UK at the forefront of crypto-asset technology and innovation by capitalising on the freedoms gained by leaving the European Union,” said a government spokesman.
No cost for the development has been announced, and details of the NFT are still under wrapped, however the Telegraph reports that it will be a type of digital artwork.
The plans were first developed by former chancellor Rishi Sunak, who instructed the Royal Mint to create an NFT by this summer. However, a release date has yet to be announced.
“We are continuing to develop our first NFT range. We will share further details in due course,” said a spokesman for the Royal Mint.
The development of the NFT has been affected by the so-called crypto winter, with Bitcoin having lost two thirds of its value since November, and leading cryptocurrency lender Celsius recently filing for bankruptcy, telling a New York court that it had $5.5 billion in liabilities and $1.2 billion in liabilities at the time of collapse.
A waning demand for NFT’s also saw sales reach a twelve month in June. Crypto research firm Chainalysis reported that NFT wales totalled $1 billion for the month, compared to a $12.6 billion peak in January.
Despite the treasury’s support for NFT’s, others within the British financial sector are less enthusiastic. Last week, Bank of England deputy governor Sir John Cunliffe stated that the majority of crypto-tokens have no intrinsic value, criticizing the market as “inherently volatile, very vulnerable to sentiment and prone to collapse.”
Although Google’s 2022 Mobile Insights Report states that only 16 per cent of players want to engage with NFTs, the Web3/blockchauin sector remains confident. PocketGamer.biz has since launched the blockchain mobile games list, a living document that catelogues mobile games with blockchain functionality.
