The BoE's mic drop moment

Who cares about stablecoin holding limits when you've got access to official liquidity support and exemptions?

Photo by Sue Winston on Unsplash

The Bank of England revealed its long-awaited stablecoin strategy on Monday, with most coverage focusing on its decision to apply a £20,000 per-coin holding limit for retail users.

But that headline missed the real story.

Beneath the cautious tone lies one of the most radical monetary reforms in decades: the first step toward a segregated payments infrastructure, where the float that underpins money transmission can be managed independently from the credit system that funds the economy.

Far from a clampdown, the new framework also quietly opens the door for sterling-denominated stablecoins to access official central bank liquidity — a concession no other major jurisdiction has yet made.