Bank of England Proposes Suite of New Stablecoin Rules, Including Temporary £20,000 Per-Coin Cap on Individual Holdings

The Bank of England just proposed a slew of new stablecoin regulations, including a temporary £20,000 ($26,350) per-coin cap on individual holdings.

The central bank’s new proposed rules would also establish a £10 million ($13.18 million) per-coin cap for businesses, with possible exemptions for certain firms such as crypto exchanges and/or supermarkets.

Both the individual and business caps are designed to be temporary safeguards as the economy adapts to digital money, and they will be removed “once the transition no longer poses risks to the provision of finance to the real economy,” the Bank of England explains.

The potential new regime would apply only to pound sterling-denominated “systemic” stablecoins, which are assets that could be used for retail payments and wholesale settlement in the future. Stablecoins that are just used for the buying and selling of crypto assets wouldn’t be covered by the Bank of England’s regulations.

The new rules would also allow systemic stablecoin issuers to hold up to 60% of their backing assets in short-term UK government debt.

Sarah Breeden, the Bank of England’s deputy governor for financial stability, says the proposed regulations are “fit for a future where stablecoins play a meaningful role in payments.”

The consultation period on the proposed rules ends in February, then the central bank plans to consider the feedback and finalize codes of practice later in 2026.

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