Bank of England signals flexibility on stablecoin rules as consultation continues

BoE's Breeden says the Bank's shift from 100 percent to a 60/40 percentage split on remunerated holdings shows it is listening to industry.

The Bank of England is willing to adjust its proposed rules for systemic stablecoins after listening to industry concerns, Deputy Governor for Financial Stability Sarah Breeden told lawmakers on Wednesday, as the central bank continues consulting on the design of its regime.

Breeden was speaking alongside Sasha Mills, Executive Director for Financial Market Infrastructure at the Bank of England, before the UK Parliament’s Financial Services Regulation Committee, where the two officials were questioned on the Bank’s proposed framework for sterling-denominated stablecoins used for real-world payments. The Bank is currently reviewing feedback from industry and experimenting with the technology through its internal distributed ledger work and policy sandbox, with draft rules expected around mid-year and a final regime targeted by the end of the year.