US and UK Regulators Unite on Digital Asset Modernization

US and UK regulators have expanded their cooperation on digital assets, including crypto, tokenization, payments, artificial intelligence, and financial resilience. The joint effort aims to modernize two major financial markets by reducing cross-border friction and establishing comparable standards.

A statement from the US Department of the Treasury outlined coordinated efforts to advance crypto regulation, payment modernization, financial stability, and capital-market reforms across both jurisdictions. Senior representatives included officials from both Treasury departments, the Bank of England, the Federal Reserve, the Financial Conduct Authority, and several US financial regulators.

The talks centered on digital assets, with a focus on stablecoins, which are designed to maintain a stable value by holding reserves linked to fiat currencies or other assets. The countries plan comparable standards for stablecoins and similar financial risks, supporting cross-border use and reserves of at least one-to-one high-quality, liquid assets.

The UK's Wholesale Financial Markets Digital Strategy was also discussed, including the appointment of Christopher Woolard CBE as the United Kingdom's Wholesale Digital Markets Champion. The talks preceded recommendations from the Transatlantic Taskforce for Markets of the Future, which seek to reduce unnecessary cross-border friction and improve supervisory cooperation.

The countries' shared approach to cross-border digital payments seeks to limit regulatory fragmentation while allowing competition among stablecoins, tokenized deposits, and other payment instruments. The Bank of England has published draft requirements for stablecoins that could operate at systemic scale within the British economy.