After facing criticism, the UK government decided to scrap the plans of the Royal Mint to issue non-fungible tokens.
Economy Minister Andrew Griffith informed the British Parliament that the Royal Mint had decided to temporarily abandon the project, stating that there was not enough evidence to justify investing in speculative tokens that could potentially result in a loss of funds.
The chairman of the special committee at the Treasury, Harriet Balvin, announced that the decision was made after consultations with the Chief Treasury.
Some parliamentarians believed that the government’s decision to abandon the project was due to pressure from the opposition.
Tulip Siddiq, spokesman for the UK shadow cabinet, criticized the government for wasting taxpayer time and money on the NFT project instead of focusing on the cost of living crisis.
Siddiq also pointed out that the Royal Mint had not provided any visualization or technical explanation of the proposed non-fungible token after almost 12 months of work on the project.
In the past, conservative politicians, including former finance minister Philip Hammond, have urged the UK government to pass laws that would make the country a global hub for crypto assets, claiming that it would provide a competitive edge after leaving the EU.