UK Treasury: Digital assets have fundamentally changed market potential; stablecoin licenses will open for applications by the end of the year

On May 13, Lucy Rigby, Deputy Economic Secretary of the UK Treasury, said at the Financial Times Digital Assets Summit that digital assets have the potential to bring a “complete transformation” to the UK market. According to Decrypt, the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Bank of England (BoE) will open a “systemic stablecoin” license application channel in the latter half of this year, in line with the existing FCA regulatory sandbox, forming a dual-track regulatory framework for Crypto and stablecoins in the UK.

A policy-setting for “complete transformation”: emphasis on efficiency, reducing cross-border friction

Rigby outlined two key focus areas in her speech. The first is efficiency: “What I want to see is an overall improvement in efficiency, faster processes, and for capital to move and be reallocated more quickly.” The second is international coordination: the UK should “reduce friction between cross-jurisdictions” with the United States, potentially achieved through regulatory recognition or standard-alignment mechanisms.

This stance echoes what was announced in the King’s Speech regarding the “Enhancing Financial Services Bill,” which includes a range of financial modernization measures, with Crypto-related regulations forming an important part. The Treasury will also hold a public consultation on the payment framework (covering stablecoins, tokenized deposits, and AI agents) afterward.

Stablecoin regulation: split between the FCA and BoE; four UK stablecoin operators enter the sandbox

The UK adopts a dual-track approach to stablecoin regulation:

FCA (Financial Conduct Authority): responsible for general stablecoin issuance and operational supervision

BoE (Bank of England): responsible for “systemic stablecoins,” i.e., stablecoins that are widely used for payments and may create financial stability risks

The FCA started a stablecoin regulatory sandbox earlier than 2026, and four operators have already entered testing, focusing on the issuance of GBP stablecoins. The license application channel for systemic stablecoins will open “later this year.” This dual-track approach allows the UK to avoid overburdening a single regulator, while also preserving special supervisory powers over major stablecoins.

A signal for the UK’s fintech positioning: aligned with the US, split from Europe

Rigby mentioned “minimizing regulatory friction between the UK and the US,” hinting that the UK’s long-term positioning is to move closer to the regulatory routes of the US GENIUS Act and CLARITY Act, rather than following the EU’s comprehensive regulatory path under MiCA. For UK fintech players, this means future compliance design can target both the UK and US markets without requiring major differentiation adjustments for Europe.

For the Crypto industry, the UK’s signal is worth comparing with the EU’s MiCA direction toward comprehensive and strong regulation. After MiCA took effect in 2024, many large Crypto exchanges chose to scale down their EU operations and shift to more friendly markets; if the UK can strike a more flexible balance between regulation and business activity, it may attract more companies back to London in 2026-2027.

Chain News Watch: It’s rare for the UK Treasury and the central bank to issue positive statements on the same day—while the Treasury focuses on industry efficiency and the central bank focuses on the definition of money—this “simultaneous signal” strategy is a clear political commitment by the UK government to the Crypto industry. The most concrete point to watch next is the stablecoin license application channel opening “later this year.” At that time, who obtains the systemic stablecoin license first will directly define the market structure for GBP stablecoins.

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