Key Takeaways
- Rishi Sunak, who served as the U.K.'s finance minister for two years and served as the country's previous chancellor of the exchequer has been elected as the country's new prime minister.
- The damningly ousted former prime minister Liz Truss was replaced by Sunak, a former Treasury secretary, after only 44 days in office.
Rishi Sunak, who served as the U.K.'s finance minister for two years and served as the country's previous chancellor of the exchequer has been elected as the country's new prime minister. The damningly ousted former prime minister Liz Truss was replaced by Sunak, a former Treasury secretary, after only 44 days in office.
Due to the economic recovery plan's swift unraveling and subsequent political and economic problems, Truss, the plan's architect, was forced to resign, and Sunak was chosen as his replacement by his fellow Conservative Party members. In a session at Buckingham Palace on Monday, Sunak officially received his new position from King Charles after being elected head of the Conservative Party.
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Crypto-Friendly Rishi Sunak to Become UK Prime Minister Following Truss Exit
As finance minister under the late Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Sunak declared he wants to make the United Kingdom a center for the cryptocurrency industry. He participated in the introduction of the Financial Services and Markets Bill, which, if it becomes law, could grant regional regulatory authorities extensive control over the cryptocurrency market, beginning with the inclusion of equity cryptocurrencies like stablecoins under the purview of disbursement rules and regs.
Following his direction, the Royal Mint, which produces the nation's coins was given the responsibility of developing a non-fungible token (NFT) collection, although hasn't been completed. For his endeavors to establish Britain as "a worldwide center for cryptocurrency trading development and investment," as stated by the U.K. government in April, Sunak has received the moniker "pro-crypto" from many individuals.
Sunak's crypto ambitions had received support from Truss' cabinet, but her exit was poised to fundamentally alter everything once more. The local cryptocurrency sector, which already had discussions with Sunak on cryptocurrency strategy while he was the minister of finance, is expected to be supportive of his nomination as the prime minister.
Adam Jackson, director of policy at Innovate Finance, a U.K. tech sector group that also promotes cryptocurrency, referred to the outgoing finance minister as an "advocate of fintech" after hearing of Sunak's promotion.
Conversely, some proponents of cryptocurrencies have expressed worry because the incoming prime minister is also in favor of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs). He discussed the potential advantages of CBDCs for both businesses and customers in October of last year when the G7 released a study on the matter. Sunak also established a team to oversee the development of a central bank virtual currency in the United Kingdom.
