Former UK chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng, who has been in office for just a few weeks in September 2022, has resurfaced to put a new focus on Bitcoin, monetary history and long-term economic thinking.
In an interview with CoinDesk, he candidly reflected on the infamous mini-budget missteps. “The mini-budget was actually drawn up two weeks after we took office and it was a very, very rushed thing,” he said, referring to the period shortly after taking office on Sept. 6 and the death of Queen Elizabeth II two days later. The compressed schedule leaves little room for coordination or review. The impact was severe, causing gilt yields to rise sharply and helping to expose the UK’s debt-driven investment pension crisis.
Kwarten still defended the intentions behind the policy, warning that the UK was now stuck in a fiscal “doomsday loop” where “you spend more than you can raise in taxes” and that ever-increasing taxes end up “killing the momentum of the economy”.
He also criticized the short-termism that dominates politics and markets. “Everything is quarter-driven and people are either ecstatic or panicked. Really, you have to take a longer view.”
This longer-term perspective now shapes his thinking about Bitcoin and money more broadly. During his tenure, he said that “the Treasury, the Bank of England certainly know about Bitcoin and digital assets, but it’s still incredibly small,” underscoring what he saw as the UK’s reluctance to embrace innovation.
He also pointed to cultural gaps with Europe, noting that Paris is becoming “very dependent on digital assets.”
Quarten also pushed back against criticism from former Prime Minister Boris Johnson after he claimed Bitcoin was a “Ponzi scheme,” arguing instead for a more open approach to emerging forms of currency.
A new Bitcoin vault project
Kwarteng is putting these ideas into practice now as executive chairman of UK Bitcoin finance company Stack BTC (STAK), which holds 31 BTC on its balance sheet.
The company has attracted growing political attention and Reform UK leader Nigel Farage holds a 6% stake in the company.
For Kwarten, the shift reflects a shift away from reactive decision-making toward what he sees as a more resilient monetary future based on long-term thinking.