During his tenure as Chancellor of the Exchequer under former Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Rishi Sunak was responsible for promoting a number of cryptocurrency-related initiatives aimed at normalizing digital currencies and integrating them into the British economy. He is widely recognized as the first crypto-enthusiast to hold the UK’s highest office. He is also the first non-white and the youngest (age 42) Prime Minister of Britain in the last 200 years.

In April, Sunak announced a series of programs aimed at turning the UK into what he called a “global hub for crypto-asset technology”. Among the initiatives announced at the time was a plan to integrate stablecoins into the national payment system, paving the way for them to be used in the UK as a recognized form of payment. Stablecoins are considered to be the least volatile form of cryptocurrency, so they attract more interest from governments than other forms of cryptocurrency, although projects such as Terra and Tether, showed the potential danger of excessive faith in the stability of these assets.

Sunak’s plans also included the creation of additional regulations that would help further integrate cryptocurrencies into the UK’s economic and legal framework, thereby encouraging greater investment in the field.

“The measures we’ve outlined today will help to ensure firms can invest, innovate and scale up in this country,” wrote Sunak in a press release published at the time.

Sunak’s other ambitious initiative was the Financial Services and Markets Bill, a piece of legislation that would give UK local authorities broad powers to regulate cryptocurrencies, which would facilitate their further assimilation into the national economy. The draft law, which has not yet been adopted, is currently under consideration in the parliament.

Sunak also recently supported research into the potential benefits of creating a central bank digital currency (CBDC), or Britcoin. However, despite his cryptocurrency track record, analysts suggest that Sunak is unlikely to have time to focus on any web3-related initiatives in the near term. Given the current economic situation in Britain, any work on Britcoin is likely to be put on the back burner.