U.S., U.K. Expand Coordination on Digital Assets, Stablecoins, and AI

The U.S. Treasury Department said on August 4 that U.S. and U.K. regulators discussed broader cooperation on digital assets, stablecoins, payment modernization, AI, financial stability, capital markets, and cross-border finance at a meeting held in London on July 8. According to Odaily, participants included both countries’ treasury departments, the Bank of England, the Federal Reserve, the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority, and several U.S. financial regulators.The U.S. side briefed counterparts on progress in implementing the GENIUS Act for stablecoins and on digital asset market structure, while the U.K. side outlined its strategy for wholesale financial markets. The two sides said they support comparable regulatory standards for stablecoins, including cross-border use, similar treatment for similar risks, and reserves backed at least one to one by high-quality liquid assets for stablecoins used as money.The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation has proposed implementation standards for the GENIUS Act covering reserves, redemption, capital, liquidity, risk management, custody, and safekeeping. The Bank of England has also published draft rules for stablecoins that could reach systemic scale in the U.K. economy, including a temporary issuance cap of 4 billion pounds for each systemic stablecoin, unrestricted use by individuals and businesses, and reserve requirements. The financial regulatory task force expects to meet again in early 2027.