“Pro-crypto” British Prime Minister in Reality “Anti-Crypto”? Decoding the Truth

According to Rishi Sunak, using cryptocurrency and blockchain technology can enhance people’s lives. However, his support for CBDCs has raised questions about his allegiances. 

The pro-Crypto Reputation of Sunak

Sunak won the Conservative leadership election on October 24 after Penny Mordaunt’s competitor was unable to secure the necessary 100 Member of Parliament nominations to move on to the next round of voting.

Sunak’s appointment has garnered enormous media attention across the globe. People are expecting better policies from Sunak because he is the first non-white British Prime Minister. Many others have pointed out that his privileged position could mean he is disconnected from common people. 

According to estimates, the former Goldman Sachs banker and his wife, venture capitalist and fashion designer Akshata Murty, are worth £730 million ($824.5 million).

Sunak told a studio audience during his failed leadership campaign against Liz Truss that he believes cryptocurrency and the underlying blockchain technology may enhance people’s lives through technological efficiencies.

He continued his remark by declaring, “you better believe I want to see that come to fruition as Prime Minister.”

In a similar spirit, Sunak exhibited his crypto expertise while running for office by saying that he favours Bored Apes over CryptoPunks and that, in order to avoid tribal backlash, he chose a “basket of cryptocurrencies” rather than choosing between Bitcoin and Ethereum.

ODELL’s Remarks  

Twitter user @ODELL criticized the recently appointed U.K. Prime Minister (PM) Rishi Sunak, saying he was “no fan of Bitcoin” and that rumors of his pro-crypto rhetoric were “misleading.”

The video of Sunak discussing Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs), which are typically perceived by the crypto community as ideologically hostile to cryptocurrency ideas like censorship-resistance and decentralization, served as the inspiration for @ODELL’s remarks.

Governments exploring CBDCs

In line with the release of the G7’s Public Policy Principles, Sunak claimed that central banks and governments from around the world are looking into the potential applications of CBDCs. He described this as a “story of digital innovation.”

Sunak stated that the G7 countries are in an exploring phase and that no decision has been taken regarding whether to move forward with CBDCs due to the magnitude of change required to accommodate them.

CBDCs, according to their critics, are just another kind of the current inflationary fiat economy. Furthermore, there are still concerns about financial surveillance and the possibility of “enemies of the state” being stopped from transacting at the touch of a button.