Bank of England weighs softer rules for UK stablecoin issuers
The Bank of England has begun reconsidering parts of its proposed stablecoin framework after digital asset firms warned that strict reserve rules and ownership caps could make pound-backed tokens difficult to use at scale.Bank of England officials are reviewing proposed stablecoin holding caps after crypto firms warned the rules could limit adoption.The central bank is also reassessing reserve requirements that would force issuers to keep 40% of backing assets at the BoE. According to the Financial Times, Bank of England Deputy Governor Sarah Breeden said the central bank is reviewing whether temporary holding limits on sterling stablecoins are necessary and is also assessing if its reserve requirements are too restrictive for issuers. Under proposals released in the Bank of Englands November 2025 consultation paper, individuals would have been limited to holding £20,000 of a single UK stablecoin during an initial transition phase, while corporate users would have faced caps of roughly $13.5 million. Officials at the central bank said at the time that the limits were intended to prevent a rapid movement of deposits out of commercial banks if stablecoins gained traction in payments. At the same time, the consultation proposed that issuers keep at least 40% of reserves in non-interest-bearing deposits at the