American and British financial regulators have reaffirmed their intent to align policy on stablecoins and tokenization, following the 13th meeting of the UK-US Financial Regulatory Working Group held in London on July 8, 2026. A joint statement summarizing the talks was released on August 4.
The working group's agenda spanned several fronts, including stablecoin oversight, the evolving structure of the U.S. digital asset market, tokenization frameworks, the UK's Wholesale Financial Markets Digital Strategy, payment modernization, and the G20 Cross-border Payments Roadmap.
GENIUS Act Takes Center Stage
U.S. officials used the meeting to brief their UK counterparts on the GENIUS Act, the country's landmark stablecoin legislation, which has helped accelerate momentum behind regulated, dollar-backed stablecoins since its passage. The briefing reflects Washington's push to position the law as a reference point for allied regulators shaping their own digital asset frameworks.
A Broader Transatlantic Push
The FRWG meeting followed closely on the heels of a related initiative: on July 14, 2026, the Transatlantic Taskforce for Markets of the Future published a set of initial recommendations alongside a joint statement on stablecoins, describing the effort as laying
the foundation for continued US-UK leadership in digital assets and capital markets
.
UK Reconsiders Its Own Restrictions
On the British side, officials indicated a willingness to revisit some of the more cautious elements of the UK's approach. The Bank of England has reconsidered temporary limits it previously floated on individual stablecoin holdings, and regulators are reviewing whether a proposed rule requiring 40% of stablecoin reserve assets to sit in non-interest-bearing central bank deposits is overly restrictive.
The UK's Financial Conduct Authority also weighed in, identifying cross-border payments as the clearest near-term use case for stablecoins, a signal that British regulators see practical payment applications, rather than speculative trading, as the area most likely to see near-term adoption.
Balancing Innovation and Stability
Throughout the joint statement, regulators emphasized a commitment to what they termed responsible digital asset innovation, framing continued cooperation between Washington and London as central to maintaining financial stability while allowing stablecoin and tokenization markets to mature under a coordinated regulatory approach.
