Bank of England weighs softer rules for UK stablecoin issuers
The article was updated with comments from Marcos Viriato.
The Bank of England has begun reconsidering parts of its proposed stablecoin framework after digital asset firms warned that strict reserve rules and ownership caps could make pound-backed tokens difficult to use at scale.
- Bank of England officials are reviewing proposed stablecoin holding caps after crypto firms warned the rules could limit adoption.
- The central bank is also reassessing reserve requirements that would force issuers to keep 40% of backing assets at the BoE.
According to the Financial Times, Bank of England Deputy Governor Sarah Breeden said the central bank is reviewing whether temporary holding limits on sterling stablecoins are necessary and is also assessing if its reserve requirements are too restrictive for issuers.
Under proposals released in the Bank of England’s November 2025 consultation paper, individuals would have been limited to holding £20,000 of a single UK stablecoin during an initial transition phase, while corporate users would have faced caps of roughly $13.5 million.
Officials at the central bank said at the time that the limits were intended to prevent a rapid movement of deposits out of commercial banks if stablecoins gained traction in payments.
At the same time, the consultation proposed that issuers keep at least 40% of reserves in non-interest-bearing deposits at the Bank of England, with the remaining assets placed in short-term UK government debt.
Sarah Breeden, who has consistently taken a cautious stance on stablecoins, previously argued that money-like digital instruments should meet safety standards comparable to traditional payment infrastructure.
Industry participants pushed back against the framework, arguing that the ownership caps would be difficult to enforce across trading venues and wallets.
Potential issuers and legal advisers also told policymakers that forcing firms to park large reserve balances at the central bank without earning interest would significantly reduce profitability for UK-issued stablecoins.
“The question is no longer how stablecoins are capped or backed, but whether the underlying infrastructure gives institutions the controls they need around compliance, privacy, interoperability and settlement. That is ultimately what institutions care about most – whether they can operate within infrastructure that satisfies regulatory, operational and reputational requirements without sacrificing efficiency or scalability. The winners in digital finance will not be the markets with the strictest rules, but the ones where institutions can actually deploy at scale.”
– Marcos Viriato, CEO and co-founder of Parfin.
UK regulators weigh stablecoin competitiveness
While UK regulators continue drafting rules for fiat-backed digital assets, policymakers are also facing pressure to prevent stablecoin activity from moving toward jurisdictions viewed as more commercially flexible.
Earlier in the week, Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey warned that international regulators could face a difficult confrontation with the United States over stablecoin oversight.
Speaking at a conference cited by Reuters, Bailey said global payment use cases would require common international standards and described future talks with Washington as a likely “coming wrestle.”
Bailey, who also chairs the Financial Stability Board, repeated concerns that some stablecoins may not be easily redeemable during periods of market stress. Reuters reported that he warned countries such as the UK could face redemption pressure if dollar-backed stablecoins spread internationally without strong safeguards.
Those comments came as the Trump administration continued backing stablecoin expansion through the GENIUS Act, which established a U.S. framework for issuers. CoinGecko data cited by Reuters valued the global stablecoin market at more than $317 billion, with dollar-backed tokens continuing to dominate the sector.
Back in London, lawmakers have also begun examining how the UK should oversee the sector. In January, parliamentary committees gathered evidence from industry groups, including Coinbase and Innovate Finance, as officials worked on rules intended to operate alongside future crypto legislation and potential digital pound plans.
For now, sterling stablecoins account for only a small share of the global market. Any relaxation of reserve rules or holding limits could influence whether regulated GBP-backed tokens become viable for payments, treasury management, and settlement, or whether firms continue favoring U.S. dollar stablecoins for most activity.
