By Phoebe Seers and Nell Mackenzie
LONDON (Reuters) -Bank of England deputy governor Sarah Breeden said on Wednesday it was “really important” for the U.S. and Britain to be synchronised on regulation of stablecoins.
Breeden’s comments come less than a week before the BoE launches a consultation on regulating stablecoins – cryptoassets pegged to a fiat currency or other reserve asset – that will soften previous proposals.
Breeden confirmed reports that the consultation would be published on November 10.
“I’ve been talking to the Federal Reserve… The regulators over there and our finance ministries are working together,” said Breeden at the SALT conference in London.
The U.S. and British governments announced in September a joint task force aimed at boosting collaboration on digital assets and capital markets.
The BOE’s proposals will only apply to “systemic” stablecoins, or those deemed capable of becoming widely used for payments. The rest will be regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority under a less stringent regime.
The central bank has faced criticism from the crypto industry over its plan to introduce limits on the amount of cryptoassets that individuals and businesses can hold, a proposal not replicated in other large financial centres.
(Reporting by Phoebe Seers and Nell MackenzieEditing by Gareth Jones)
