In Progress

United Kingdom

Legislation

Financial Services and Markets Act 2023 (stablecoin provisions)

Authority

FCA

Overview

Post-Brexit crypto framework taking shape

The big picture: The UK is building a bespoke stablecoin regime under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2023, with the FCA rolling out rules in phases.

  • Phase 1 covers fiat-backed stablecoins used for payments; subsequent phases address broader crypto-asset activities
  • Consultation topics include authorization requirements, backing asset rules, consumer redemption rights, and operational resilience standards
  • The UK treats stablecoins as a payment instrument rather than e-money — diverging from MiCA
  • A more flexible reserve asset framework is proposed compared to the EU approach

Why it matters: The FCA's Travel Rule implementation (effective September 2023) already applies to UK-based crypto-asset businesses, including stablecoin transactions.

What's next: Full issuance rules are expected to be finalized in 2026.

Coming Soon

Detailed regulatory analysis

In-depth coverage of this jurisdiction's stablecoin framework is being developed for a dedicated satellite site in the Atlas network.

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