The agency will prepare bills that will simplify the work of companies that use “stable coins” for payments. Control over the issuance and use of such assets in payments will be transferred to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), forklog.com reported.
Finance Minister Lucy Rigby said the initiative will help modernize the financial system and adapt it to blockchain technology. She said the government sees the “transformational potential” of digital assets in changing the way businesses and consumers interact.
The reform will also affect the following areas
– Regulation of payments made by AI agents;
– extending the FCA’s open banking powers;
– development of tokenized wholesale market systems.
To support the sector, the authority will allocate £1 million to the Center for Finance, Innovation and Technology. Chris Woolard, former interim head of the FCA, will oversee the development of tokenized systems.
CoinCover spokesman Anthony Jung said in a comment to The Block that the focus on stablecoins is in line with the demands of institutional investors. However, he emphasized: not only a regulatory framework, but also a robust asset storage infrastructure is important for mass adoption of the technology.
The Treasury will shortly launch a consultation on reforming e-money services. The government expects that these changes will make the UK a global center for financial services.
Moldova lags behind the rest of the world
It should be reminded that Moldova is still only planning to legalize all issues related to cryptocurrencies (including stablcoins, tokenized deposits, etc.) by developing a legal framework that complies with the European regulation MiCA. It is planned to allow the official purchase, sale and exchange of digital assets through licensed platforms, which will allow regulating the market, preventing fraud and taxing transactions.
Full-fledged regulation is expected by the end of 2026.
