US and UK Reconfirm Support for Stablecoins, Tokenization

U.S. and U.K. regulators reaffirmed support for stablecoins and tokenization at the 13th UK-US Financial Regulatory Working Group meeting in London on July 8. Officials updated each other on implementation of the GENIUS Act, digital asset market structure and plans for payment modernization.

An Aug. 4 joint statement noted that U.S. officials briefed U.K. counterparts on progress implementing the GENIUS Act. Both sides reviewed ongoing work on digital asset market structure and efforts to modernize cross-border payments in line with the G20 Cross-border Payments Roadmap.

The meeting did not announce new rules. The statement emphasized coordinated oversight across key areas of the digital asset industry and expressed support for “responsible” digital asset innovation alongside attention to financial stability and international cooperation.

Participants discussed tokenization of securities, including bonds, equities and funds, and how market infrastructure might adapt to support trading, settlement and custody on distributed ledgers.

The Transatlantic Taskforce for Markets of the Future published initial recommendations on July 14 and issued a joint statement on stablecoins. Officials described that work as complementary to the FRWG discussions, targeting cross-border regulatory alignment and market access between the two jurisdictions.

The U.K. is reviewing parts of its stablecoin approach while U.S. authorities implement the GENIUS Act. The Bank of England is reassessing a proposed temporary limit on stablecoin holdings and a prior proposal that would have required at least 40% of reserves to be held as non-interest-bearing deposits at the central bank. The Financial Conduct Authority identified cross-border payments as a near-term use case for stablecoins.

Officials also covered technical and regulatory steps to enable faster, cheaper and more transparent cross-border transactions. Discussion touched on near-instant settlement, interoperability between systems, and how stablecoins might be used for remittances and corporate payments while maintaining consumer protections and anti-money-laundering controls.

Background: the GENIUS Act establishes a regulatory framework for stablecoin issuers and aims to integrate regulated stablecoins into the existing financial system. Tokenization refers to representing assets on distributed ledgers to speed settlement and broaden market access. The July 8 session was the FRWG’s 13th meeting.