Rishi Sunak, the former chancellor of the Exchequer, and Liz Truss, Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, two of the final candidates to become the next prime minister for the United Kingdom, have both previously expressed pro-crypto views.
Sunak and Truss are competing to be the next leader of the Conservative Party and the country, with their views on digital assets likely to influence financial policy. Under Johnson, Sunak requested that the country’s Royal Mint create a NFT as part of an effort to make the United Kingdom a global crypto hub.
Sunak previously said the U.K. government would prioritize financial technology, including central bank digital currencies and stablecoins, aiming for the country to keep pace with innovation. He has also been behind many proposed financial services reforms promoting the adoption of cryptocurrencies and stablecoins.
Truss called for an anti-regulatory approach to crypto in 2018 in an effort for the U.K. to embrace the technology. In her role as Secretary of State for International Trade, the MP launched a digital trade network in 2020 whose measures included promoting fintech firms that enabled digitisation and resilience in priority export markets.
