Bank of England Recognizes Stablecoins as a New Form of Money and Outlines Regulatory Framework

Bank of England Charts New Course for Stablecoin Regulation

Senior officials at the Bank of England have recently detailed their stance and regulatory roadmap for stablecoins. Executive Director Sasha Mills emphasized that stablecoins are recognized as a new form of money, and the central bank will not show preferential treatment between tokenized deposits and stablecoins.

Launch of Systemic Stablecoin Oversight

The central bank plans to open the application process for regulating 'systemic stablecoins' by the end of this year. This category refers to stablecoins that are widely used for payments, reach a significant scale, and could potentially pose risks to financial stability. Such assets will fall under the direct supervision of the Bank of England.

Clear Division of Regulatory Responsibilities

Matthew Long, Director of Payments and Digital Assets at the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), outlined the regulatory分工. He stated that while systemic stablecoins will be overseen by the central bank, other stablecoins will primarily be regulated by the FCA. Long highlighted that sterling-denominated stablecoins still have a meaningful role to play in the future financial landscape.

The UK's Strategy in a Global Context

Mills also provided context on the global stablecoin market, noting that the vast majority are currently pegged to the US dollar and may not fully align with emerging US legislative proposals. The UK intends to synchronize its regulatory timeline with developments in the United States to promote consistency and effectiveness in the international regulatory environment.