Lords Urge Treasury to Develop Formal Crypto Strategy
The UK's House of Lords has passed an amendment requiring HM Treasury to develop a formal strategy covering crypto assets, stablecoins, and tokenized securities. This move is aimed at addressing concerns that the UK's current positioning in the global crypto race is insufficient.
The amendment compels the Treasury to produce a cohesive strategy rather than continuing to regulate digital assets in a piecemeal fashion. The scope of the strategy is broad and includes crypto assets, stablecoins, tokenized securities, and digital financial infrastructure.
Peers have been explicit about their motivation for this push: competitiveness. They have pointed to the regulatory frameworks emerging in the US and EU as benchmarks the UK should be measuring itself against. The EU's Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) has been live since mid-2024, while the US has been rapidly evolving its own approach.
The Bank of England listened partially to a report from the Financial Services Regulation Committee that urged regulators to ease up on stablecoins. In September 2026, the BoE issued a policy statement refining its approach to systemic stablecoins, requiring 70% in short-term UK government debt and 30% in unremunerated BoE deposits.
The BoE's revised backing requirements represent a pragmatic compromise. The original 40% central bank deposit requirement would have forced stablecoin issuers to park a huge chunk of their reserves in non-interest-bearing accounts at the Bank of England.