Awalnya diterbitkan oleh Bank of England pada 2025-11-10
Bank of England Outlines Its Vision for Sterling Stablecoin Oversight
The Bank of England has proposed a dedicated regulatory regime for systemic sterling-denominated stablecoins, marking a pivotal moment for digital payments in the UK. We break down its key requirements and what they mean for the market.
When the Bank of England publishes a consultation paper with a foreword from Governor Andrew Bailey, the financial services industry takes notice. The November 2025 paper on systemic sterling-denominated stablecoins is no exception — it represents the central bank's most detailed vision yet for how digital payment tokens should be regulated in the UK.
Stablecoins as Payment Infrastructure
The core premise of the Bank of England's proposal is straightforward: stablecoins that become widely used for everyday payments could pose risks to UK financial stability, and therefore require regulation proportionate to those risks. This is no mere theoretical concern. Global stablecoin transaction volume surpassed $33 trillion in 2025, and the Bank of England is positioning itself to manage the systemic implications before they materialize, rather than after.
What sets this proposal apart from earlier regulatory approaches is its focus on the "systemic" threshold. Non-systemic stablecoins — those not yet widely adopted for payments — remain under FCA supervision alone. However, once a stablecoin enters systemic territory, it falls under a dual regulatory regime overseen by both the Bank of England and the FCA.
Backing Requirements
The most consequential aspect of the proposal concerns how stablecoin issuers must back their tokens. The Bank of England proposes that systemic issuers hold part of their backing assets in short-term UK government debt and maintain a deposit account at the Bank of England itself. This is a remarkable development: it effectively brings stablecoin issuers into the same financial infrastructure that underpins traditional banking.
For users, this matters because it addresses a fundamental question that has shadowed the stablecoin market since its inception: when you hold a stablecoin, can you truly redeem it at par in fiat currency? The Bank of England's answer is to require exactly that — "stability of nominal value, a robust legal claim, and the ability to always redeem at par in
Source: Bank of England