UK Incorporates Stablecoin Innovation into BoE Mandate
The UK government has announced plans to incorporate a new secondary statutory objective into the Bank of England (BoE) aimed at supporting innovation in stablecoins and digital payments. The BoE will be required to report annually to Parliament on its progress, with financial stability remaining the central bank's primary responsibility.
This move makes the modernization of payments work a formal responsibility of the BoE. The initiative aims to build a unified regulatory framework covering traditional and tokenized payments, including stablecoins and tokenized deposits. Payments made by artificial intelligence agents will also be considered.
City Minister Lucy Rigby stressed that the UK's financial stability will remain the BoE's primary objective, but the new secondary mandate will allow the bank to 'continue driving innovation in payments and digital finance.'