US and UK Open Door to Cross-Border Stablecoins

The U.S. Treasury Department and HM Treasury have unveiled a joint blueprint for closer regulatory cooperation on digital assets. It features a series of measures designed to align the two countries’ approaches to stablecoins, tokenization and digital financial infrastructure while laying the groundwork for more seamless cross-border markets.

The recommendations, developed by the Transatlantic Taskforce for Markets of the Future, stop short of creating binding regulatory standards or mutual recognition between the two jurisdictions. Instead, they outline 10 proposals intended to guide future collaboration between policymakers and regulators as both countries develop their own digital asset regimes. Five recommendations focus specifically on digital assets, while the remaining proposals address broader capital markets issues.

A central theme running through the report is the desire to reduce fragmentation between the world’s two largest financial centers while supporting the emergence of cross-border tokenized financial markets, according to Decrypt. The taskforce said industry participants consistently emphasized the need for greater regulatory coordination to accelerate adoption of distributed ledger technology, improve market efficiency and enable broader use of tokenized assets across jurisdictions.

Among the most significant proposals is a recommendation to establish a private sector-led working group that would spend one year testing real-world cross-border tokenization use cases. Per Decrypt, the group would examine practical applications for tokenized assets, identify regulatory barriers, recommend technical standards and help determine what additional regulatory clarity is needed to support broader adoption of tokenized finance between the United States and the United Kingdom.

The report also calls on regulators including the Securities and Exchange Commission, Commodity Futures Trading Commission, Bank of England and Financial Conduct Authority to identify common approaches to regulating tokenized assets. Areas identified for potential alignment include determining settlement finality for tokenized securities transactions and evaluating whether stablecoins and tokenized money market funds could serve as margin collateral at central counterparties. The recommendations also encourage greater use of flexible regulatory mechanisms to provide market participants with clearer guidance as tokenized markets develop.

Stablecoins receive particular attention throughout the recommendations. Treasury officials from both countries are preparing a separate joint statement recognizing the importance of fostering a dynamic cross-border stablecoin market while pursuing regulatory alignment and ongoing dialogue. According to Decrypt, the statement will endorse payment stablecoins that are fully backed on at least a one-to-one basis by high-quality liquid assets, reflecting principles incorporated into the U.S. GENIUS Act, which is scheduled to take effect in 2027.

Perhaps the most forward-looking recommendation is the endorsement of what is described as a “multi-money ecosystem.” Rather than envisioning stablecoins replacing traditional banking products, the taskforce recommends policy frameworks that would allow stablecoins, tokenized bank deposits and other forms of digital money to coexist, providing consumers and businesses with multiple interoperable forms of digital payment and settlement. The approach reflects a broader vision of tokenized finance in which different forms of digital money can support increasingly interconnected cross-border markets.

The fifth digital asset recommendation shifts attention to international banking standards, urging both governments to support a targeted review of the Basel Committee’s prudential framework governing banks’ crypto asset exposures. The report argues future standards should remain technology-neutral, evidence-based and adaptable as digital asset markets evolve while promoting greater global consistency.

While the recommendations emphasize closer cooperation, they do not propose automatic recognition of each country’s regulatory approvals. According to Decrypt, a stablecoin issuer authorized in one jurisdiction would still need to satisfy the other’s licensing requirements before operating across the Atlantic. The recommendations instead are intended to minimize regulatory friction while allowing each country to complete its own legislative and rulemaking processes.

Industry participants welcomed the initiative. Katie Harries, Coinbase’s head of policy for Europe, described the recommendations as a “critical moment for transatlantic cooperation,” saying they create an opportunity for the United States and United Kingdom to “reimagine global capital markets through tokenisation.” The recommendations also build on earlier comments from U.K. Economic Secretary Lucy Rigby, who has argued that digital assets have the potential to transform financial markets while reducing cross-border friction through greater regulatory alignment.