UK Stablecoin Regulation: Bank of England Releases Systemic Stablecoin Policy Statement
The UK's Systemic Stablecoin Policy Statement has been released by the Bank of England, marking an important development in the country's regulatory approach to stablecoins.
The statement introduces several key changes, including reducing the required percentage of backing assets held in unremunerated accounts from 40% to 30%, replacing holding limits with a temporary GBP40 billion per stablecoin issuance limit, and permitting stablecoin-linked activity-based rewards while still prohibiting yield.
The UK regulators have also released their Approach to Joint Regulation of Systemic Stablecoin Issuers and the Financial Conduct Authority's Final Rules for the UK cryptoassets regime. Feedback is open until September 22, 2026, for the Policy Statement, and until September 30, 2026, for the joint regulation approach.
The Bank of England emphasizes that the revised proposals aim to balance stablecoin business model economics, market uncertainties, and financial stability. However, not everyone is satisfied with the updated backing asset proposals, which do not address the Committee's advocacy for a principles-based approach to the composition of backing assets.