The United States and United Kingdom have published a joint statement establishing 10 regulatory principles designed to harmonize stablecoin oversight across transatlantic markets and facilitate cross-border payments and capital market settlement. The framework represents the first coordinated approach between the two largest English-language financial regulators to create compatible regulatory regimes for digital assets.
The principles establish that stablecoins must be fully backed by high-quality liquid assets held separately from issuers' own funds, with clear redemption rights for token holders. Regulators committed to applying similar rules to similar risks while avoiding market distortions and unnecessary barriers to competition. The framework permits regulated stablecoins to function across payments, settlements, tokenized markets, and securities and commodities transactions—marking a significant expansion of their intended use cases.
The agreement addresses reserve and liquidity requirements in ways that reduce risks without forcing issuers to segregate excessive capital pools by jurisdiction, a constraint cited by industry participants as commercially unworkable. The statement also prioritizes stablecoin holder claims on reserves in insolvency proceedings and commits both nations to coordinate cross-border resolution procedures. Both countries pledged to explore mechanisms for stablecoins issued in one jurisdiction to access markets in the other within existing national laws.
The joint statement signals regulatory intent to move stablecoin policy beyond restrictive approaches toward functional frameworks that enable innovation while maintaining financial stability—a shift that could influence regulatory approaches globally and remove barriers that have constrained stablecoin adoption in institutional payments and settlement infrastructure.