bnnbloomberg: The Treasury's economic secretary, John Glen, announced today that the Chancellor has asked the Royal Mint to issue NFTs later this year.

The UK Treasury has announced plans to enter the crypto world later this year with the development of an official NFT.

According to a report, the Treasury's economic secretary, John Glen, announced today that the Chancellor has asked the Royal Mint to issue NFTs later this year. According to Glen, the decision reflects the Treasury's goal to establish a favorable climate for crypto assets in the UK.

“I’m announcing today the chancellor has asked the Royal Mint to create a non-fungible token” announced Glen at the Innovate Finance conference in London today.

"There is a genuine opportunity to build on our FinTech strengths, seize the capitalist energy that has already made UK financial services what they are, and use it to unleash the potential of crypto technologies," Glen said.

"It won't happen overnight... "However, we believe that by making this country more welcoming to cryptocurrency, we can attract investment, generate waves of new jobs, and create a wave of groundbreaking new products and services," Glen added.

With the launch of NFTs, the Treasury hopes to establish the UK as a global leader in the crypto industry.

The Treasury confirmed in a tweet that "this decision shows the forward-looking approach we are determined to take towards cryptoassets in the UK."

According to Rishi Sunak, digital assets tied to the value of real-world assets, such as gold and silver, will be recognized as legal tender in the near future.

NFTs use the unique blockchain value to grant ownership of something – whether tangible or virtual – with digital art, photographs, or music becoming increasingly popular. Typically purchased and sold by collectors, some NFTs have skyrocketed in value and are now worth millions of pounds, as buyers use them to flaunt their taste or wealth, or to profit from price fluctuations.

The announcement from the Treasury did not clarify what image or item the Royal Mint's NFT would transfer ownership over, whether additional would be manufactured, or whether NFTs would be used to generate revenue for the exchequer. More information, according to a Treasury spokeswoman, will be released "soon."

With inflation at its highest level in three decades, the move to create an NFT is sure to raise questions at a time when over a million Britons are predicted to fall into poverty this year.