Key Points:
- Zach Burks, CEO of Mintable, warns against misguided UK regulation of NFTs.
- According to Burks, the government’s focus on intellectual property issues risks overshadowing the real issues.
- Burks suggests that the UK could learn lessons from countries like Singapore.
A Narrow Vision of Technology According to Burks
The UK seems to be taking a worrying direction when it comes to regulation of non-fungible tokens (NFTs).
According to Zach Burks, CEO of Mintable, the British government struggles to grasp the true nature of NFTs, reducing them to mere speculative assets or digital artworks.
“NFTs are in a transition phase where they’re moving away from the speculative boom of PFPs, and now they’re turning towards utility for brands implementing NFTs in a whole range of different things”
– Zach Burks
He believes that this limited vision could impede the development of this rapidly expanding technology.
The Intellectual Property Trap
Another point of contention relates to intellectual property. Zach Burks also highlights that the UK government’s focus on intellectual property issues could be counterproductive, even though copyright protection is crucial.
As the CEO of Mintable puts it, copyright issues are not specific to NFTs; they are inherent to the internet in general: “It’s not like this problem suddenly emerged because NFTs were created.”
Lessons to Learn from Other Jurisdictions
It may be wise for the UK to take inspiration from the regulatory approach of countries like Singapore, where authorities evaluate NFTs based on their specific use cases.
Now, it remains to be seen whether the country will opt for more enlightened regulation or remain trapped in a narrow vision.
