The former chancellor of the exchequer, who is now in charge of the sixth-largest economy in the world, is rumored to be eight times as wealthy as King Charles.
Rishi Sunak will soon take office as prime minister of the United Kingdom. Liz Truss defeated Sunak for the top government position on September 5; nevertheless, she resigned after serving for only 45 days. His appointment to the position appears to be excellent news for the cryptocurrency industry so far because of his passionate support of the technology.
From early 2020 through July 5 of this year, Sunak served as the chancellor of the exchequer, or head of the treasury, before resigning after a scandal that rocked Boris Johnson’s administration. Sunak frequently expressed his support for cryptocurrency around that time. Speaking in April on a stablecoin-related regulatory reform proposal, Sunak said:
“It’s my ambition to make the U.K. a global hub for crypto-asset technology, and the measures we’ve outlined […] will help to ensure firms can invest, innovate and scale up in this country. This is part of our plan to ensure the U.K. financial services industry is always at the forefront of technology and innovation.”
Sunak has also expressed support for digital money issued by central banks. In order to serve “as an emblem of the forward-looking approach the UK is determined to take,” he ordered the Royal Mint to issue a nonfungible token (NFT) by the end of the year in April.
He also managed the creation of the Financial Services and Markets Bill, a piece of legislation that would eventually pass through Parliament and establish regulations for stablecoins and other digital assets.
Sunak has contributed to history in a number of ways. He is the youngest prime minister in modern British history at the age of 42. Sunak is the wealthiest British prime minister to assume office with a personal fortune estimated at £730 billion ($837 billion).