Bank of England drops individual stablecoin caps, sets £40 bn issuance guardrail

The Bank of England has issued a revised draft framework for systemic pound‑backed stablecoins. It removed the previously proposed individual holding limits of £20,000 per person and £10 million per business, opting instead for a temporary issuance cap of £40 billion per stablecoin – described as a “guardrail” that will be reviewed and potentially removed once risks to credit supply are addressed.

The new rules also relax reserve requirements: issuers may hold up to 70 % of their backing assets in short‑term UK government debt, up from 60 %, while the remaining 30 % must be kept as non‑interest‑bearing deposits at the Bank of England. The regime will apply only to “systemic” stablecoins – those widely used in payments and deemed capable of affecting financial stability – which will be jointly supervised by the BoE and the Financial Conduct Authority. Non‑systemic tokens remain under FCA oversight.

The Bank aims to finalise the rulebook by the end of 2026, with a planned rollout in 2027. Feedback from industry participants is being accepted until 22 September 2026.