Rishi Sunak, a British politician of Indian descent, was announced as the prime minister of Great Britain this week.
At this point, it becomes easy to argue that Rishi Sunak's appointment is a big win for the crypto community and market because, in the past, individuals who attain such lofty offices were usually either indifferent or adamantly opposed to the idea of crypto and blockchain technology.
Sunak was the former Chancellor of the Exchequer under the former prime minister, Boris Johnson. And as Chancellor, he was responsible for reviewing and promoting several cryptos and blockchain-related initiatives (including Central Bank Digital Currencies or CBDCs) into the British economy.
He is the first crypto enthusiast to hold such a high office in the United Kingdom (and possibly the world). He is also the first non-white and the youngest (42) prime minister of the UK in the last 200 years.
This summer, Sunak resigned as Chancellor because his approach to the economy was "too fundamentally different" to that of the former prime minister, Boris Johnson.
Rishi Sunak is recognized as a stellar politician and is widely regarded as a fiscal conservative who advocated for empowering technology-oriented businesses (including crypto and blockchain solutions) and boosting productivity.
However, his tenure in the cabinet was plagued by crisis management issues in the wake of the mass unemployment and other economic woes left behind by the covid-19 pandemic.
During Sunak's failed political campaign against the now-resigned Liz Truss, the former Goldman Sachs banker told the media that he supports cryptocurrencies and their underlying technology related to blockchains. He also mentioned that he sees blockchain technology as a way to improve lives.
Ending his speech, Sunak reportedly said to the media, "As PM, you better believe I want to see that happen".
Recall that Sunak made his crypto/blockchain technology enthusiasm clear during his campaign trail a few days ago in a tweet, where he mentions that he prefers the NFT collection, Bored Apes, to CryptoPunks.
Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) are special kinds of cryptocurrencies.
Even though CBDCs are cryptocurrencies, the better part of the crypto market kicks violently against them.
The reason for this is the issue of decentralization. While other cryptocurrencies on the market are backed by decentralized networks and are free from control or manipulation from central entities like governments and the central bank, CBDCs are the direct opposite.
Put simply, CBDCs are digitized fiat.
This means that despite being cryptocurrencies, CBDCs are issued by central banks. As a result, they remain fully under the control of the government.
On CBDC networks, privacy infringement can (and is bound to) occur, financial surveillance is possible, and a user can be denied access to their hard-earned money by government mandate or if they so much as hold "wrong" opinions about the state.
In mid-October, during Sunak's time as Chancellor under Boris Johnson, the treasury released a video of Sunak talking about CBDCs.
In this video, Sunak calls the concept of CBDCs the "story of digital innovation" and has not tried to hide his support for these digitized forms of fiat. So far, critics have argued that CBDCs are no different from regular inflationary fiat.
As a result, there are doubts about Sunak's crypto enthusiasm coming from the right place and effecting the right changes relating to freedom and privacy in the crypto space.
Disclaimer: The information provided in independent research represents the author's view and does not constitute investment, trading, or financial advice. VOC doesn't recommend buying, selling, trading, holding or investing in any cryptocurrencies