US and UK Align on Stablecoin Rules, GENIUS Act Implementation Progresses
The United States and the United Kingdom held their 13th Financial Regulatory Working Group (FRWG) meeting in London on July 8, 2026. The meeting covered digital asset market structure, tokenization priorities, and the G20 Cross-Border Payments Roadmap.
US officials briefed UK counterparts on the ongoing rollout of the GENIUS Act stablecoin framework, a comprehensive federal law governing payment stablecoins in the US signed into law by President Trump in July 2025. The law mandates 1:1 backing with high-quality liquid assets such as cash and short-term US Treasuries.
BlackRock launched two tokenized money market funds targeting GENIUS Act reserve eligibility just one day before the joint statement dropped, a signal that Wall Street is not waiting for final rules. The Treasury, OCC, FDIC, Federal Reserve, and NCUA have all issued proposed rules but none have released final regulations.
The UK shared progress on its own Wholesale Financial Markets Digital Strategy and announced Christopher Woolard CBE as the new Wholesale Digital Markets Champion. The Bank of England has also advanced its systemic stablecoin framework, replacing earlier holding limits with a temporary £40 billion per-issuer issuance cap and adjusting reserve composition rules.