Rishi Sunak as UK Prime Minister: What does this mean for cryptocurrencies?

The 42-year-old investment banker-turned-politician gave his first speech as PM outside Downing Street. Sunak said he was determined to “correct the mistakes” made by his predecessor. liz truss,

Delivering his speech, Sunak said, “I am ready to lead the country in the future and put your needs above politics”, adding, “I will form a government that best represents my party.” “

“The work begins now to correct the mistakes,” Sunak said, and “that work begins immediately”.

Previously, the British politician of Indian origin served as the Chancellor of the Exchequer from 2020 to 2022. He resigned from his chancellor post on July 5 this year in the midst of the then PM. boris johnsonGovernment crisis and controversy. Soon after Johnson’s resignation, the search for a new prime minister began. sunki Participated but lost to Truss who succeeded Boris on 5 September.

But Truss’s rule lasted less than two months as he resigned on 20 October due to another government crisis. The collapse of the truce when his government launched a ‘mini budget’ to prop up the country’s economy, however, faced heavy criticism from both. general public and members of its cabinet. The announcement stirred the market as the sterling pound fell and British government bonds were dumped heavily by investors. The most talked about mini budget was the massive tax cuts that included eliminating the 45% tax rate on top earners and reversing other tax hikes.

Truss’ exit was his second chance to fight for a leadership position and Sunak once again entered the race to be elected as the new PM. His rivals were Penny Mordant and former PM Boris Johnson. However, in the days following, Johnson dropped out of the race on his own, while Mordaunt withdrew his candidacy.

On October 25, the air was cleared for Sunak to become the new leader of the Conservative Party and according to him the new PM of the world’s sixth largest economy.

With his appointment, the blockchain industry feels that Sunak’s appointment could revolutionize cryptocurrencies.

During his time as finance minister under former PM Johnson’s regime, Sunak had hinted at making the UK a crypto hub. As FM under Johnson’s rule, Sunak announced the Financial Services and Markets Bill, which, if becomes law, could give local regulators broad control over the crypto industry.

Rajagopal Menon Vice President VazirX said, “Rishi Sunak is a fintech evangelist. His becoming PM is a huge positive for crypto. Sunak, while serving as Chancellor, stated his intention to make the UK a crypto hub.”

Menon added, “He introduced the Financial Services and Markets Bill, which, if becomes law, could give local regulators broad control over the crypto industry, introducing asset-based cryptocurrencies like stablecoins within the framework of payment regulations. Under his direction, the Royal Mint, which produces the country’s coins, was given the responsibility of developing a non-fungible token (NFT) collection.”

On Tuesday, on CoinMarketCap, at the time of writing, the global crypto market cap rose 1.8% on the previous day to $941.73 billion. The biggest cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin and ethereum have gained over 1% and almost 4% in the past 24 hours. BNB, Cardona, Solana and Dogecoin are also up 2-4% in the last 24 hours.

Bitcoin which is the largest cryptocurrency is currently a little shy of around $19,500, while Ethereum the second largest cryptocurrency is around $1,380.

According to data from CoinMarketCap, there are approximately 21,499 cryptocurrencies and 520 crypto exchanges.

The industry expects that the arrival of Sunak as the new PM will bring much needed change to cryptocurrencies. But there is a catch as Sunak is also a longtime proponent of central bank-backed digital currencies.

Edul Patel, CEO, and Co-Founder of Mudrex – A Global Crypto Investing Platform, said, “Rishi Sunak is a supposedly pro-crypto politician who is now at the helm of affairs in the UK. A significant segment of the population in the UK There is still skepticism about cryptocurrency. Sunak’s appointment could have the potential to revolutionize. However, there is a catch! Rishi Sunak has been a longtime proponent of Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs).”

A CBDC is money that a central bank like the Bank of England can produce. It is called digital or electronic because it is not physical money like notes and coins. This is in the form of an amount on a computer or similar device. UK citizens sometimes describe this potential UK digital currency as ‘digital sterling’ or ‘Britcoin’.

On the Bank of England website, it is stated, CBDC is different from cryptocurrency (also known as crypto asset). Cryptocurrencies are not issued by central banks. These privately issued digital currencies include Bitcoin, Ether (Ethereum) and XRP.

Thus, Patel said that “it remains to be seen whether the crypto community will be excited about this appointment. However, it does make a strong case for general public awareness of blockchain and cryptocurrency.”

Sunak has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Richmond in North Yorkshire since 2015. He also served as the Chief Secretary of the Treasury from 2019 to 2020. He has a degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE) from Lincoln College. , Oxford, and an MBA from Stanford University in California as a Fulbright Scholar. He voted three times in favor of May’s Brexit withdrawal agreement.

He is married to Akshata Murthy, daughter of Indian billionaire NR Narayana Murthy, who founded IT giant Infosys. Sunak has also worked at Goldman Sachs, and later as a partner in Children’s Investment Fund Management and Thelem Partners. Sunak and Akshata have two daughters.