Across the Pond & On the Ledger: US and UK Double Down on Stablecoin Synergy 🇬🇧🇺🇸

The United States and United Kingdom reaffirmed their commitment to closer financial regulatory cooperation on digital assets during the 13th meeting of the UK-US Financial Regulatory Working Group (FRWG) held in London on July 8, according to an Aug. 4 joint statement. Officials discussed stablecoin regulation, tokenization, US digital asset market structure, the UK's Wholesale Financial Markets Digital Strategy, payment modernization and the G20 Cross-border Payments Roadmap.

US representatives updated their UK counterparts on the implementation of the GENIUS Act, the country's landmark stablecoin legislation, as well as ongoing work on digital asset market structure. The meeting produced no new policy measures but struck a broadly supportive tone toward "responsible" digital asset innovation while emphasizing financial stability and international regulatory cooperation.

That posture was echoed on July 14, when the Transatlantic Taskforce for Markets of the Future — a joint US-UK initiative focused on financial innovation and capital markets — published its initial recommendations alongside a joint statement on stablecoins. The governments said the measures would lay the foundation for continued US-UK leadership in digital assets and capital markets.

The UK's renewed emphasis on stablecoins comes as industry observers argue the country is losing ground to the United States, where the GENIUS Act has accelerated momentum behind regulated dollar-backed tokens. The Bank of England has softened its stance on stablecoin oversight, reviewing whether its proposal requiring at least 40% of reserve assets to be held as non-interest-bearing deposits at the central bank is too restrictive and considering alternatives to temporary limits on stablecoin holdings, as Cointelegraph reported in May.

Separately, the UK's Financial Conduct Authority said earlier this year that cross-border payments represent one of the clearest near-term use cases for stablecoins, underscoring growing regulatory recognition of the technology's potential. Related reporting has also noted the UK government moved to defer capital gains on certain crypto assets through a "no gain, no loss" approach.