Rishi Sunak, who previously spearheaded the UK’s crypto hub ambitions as the country’s finance minister, or Chancellor of the Exchequer, won the race to lead the Conservative Party on Monday following Liz Truss’ resignation from her position last week after 45 days in office.
See related article: New UK PM, finance minister have previously supported crypto, blockchain
Fast facts
- “The United Kingdom is a great country but we face a profound economic crisis. That’s why I am standing to be Leader of the Conservative Party and your next Prime Minister. I want to fix our economy, unite our Party and deliver for our country,” Sunak tweeted after securing the position following rival Penny Mordaunt’s withdrawal from the race.
- The former Chancellor of the Exchequer will be challenged by the UK’s turbulent economy, which the Bank of England says is currently in recession.
- In April, Sunak shared his ambitions to transform the UK into a global crypto hub.
- In July, Sunak helped introduce the Financial Services and Markets Bill, which seeks to regulate stablecoins as payment methods and give the Bank of England oversight over digital asset service providers.
See related article: UK seeks to regulate stablecoins for payments in new markets bill