Erstwhile Chancellor of the Exchequer in the Great britain, Lord Philip Hammond, has joined cryptocurrency custodial group Copper every bit a senior counselor with the ambition of "promoting the UK as a global leader in digital asset technology."

The London start-up firm, which provides custodial and infrastructure services in the digital asset sector, reportedly facilitates over $50 billion in transaction value per month for in excess of 400 institutional clients.

During his assistants as chancellor between 2022 and 2022, Hammond was commended for expanding the nation'due south financial technology sector as well as fostering a capitalistic environs for commencement-upwardly businesses.

Speaking on his new part in crypto, Hammond expressed his vision for an interoperable time to come of blockchain in Britain:

"If we tin bring together the best of U.k. — entrepreneurs, industry, regime, and regulators — to create and enable a blockchain-based ecosystem for financial services, we volition secure the UK's global leadership in this field for decades alee."

After a 22-year tenure every bit a Conservative Member of Parliament, or MP, Hammond retired from the political landscape in November 2022 post-obit a public wildcat over his and Boris Johnson'southward political party's handling of Brexit negotiations.

After voting against his political party in a bid to avoid a no-deal Brexit, Hammond was stripped of his whip — a title that designates members of the party responsible for enforcing legislative votes — and therefore, stood downwardly and did non run for re-ballot in his constituency of Runnymede and Weybridge.

Since this fallout, Hammond has taken upwardly another informational part to the Finance Minister of Saudi Arabia, with whom he has had positive relations during his career.

Related: Erstwhile British MP says central banks should ban Bitcoin

In June of this year, Copper benefited from a $75 million funding heighten, which included a $12.5 million contribution from British billionaire hedge fund manager Alan Howard.

Chief executive of Copper, Dmitry Tokarev, commented on the company's want to expand their operations from their headquarters in London with the add-on of their newly appointed esteemed political figure:

"With Lord Hammond'due south expertise adding to the strength of our team, we look forward to growing Copper and further enhancing the UK's digital nugget technology offering."

This isn't the first time a British politician has joined forces with a cryptocurrency entity in an informational office. Cointelegraph reported in October 2022 that Andrew Hammond (no relation to Philip), a member of the Treasury Select Committee, joined crypto exchange IronX to support regulatory developments.

In a similar light, the former U.K. Secretary of Land for Health and Social Care during the pandemic, Matt Hancock, endorsed blockchain applied science during a London Blockchain Briefing in April 2022, expressing that it will accept a "awe-inspiring impact" on the lives of ordinary people.