US and UK Reveal Digital Asset Plan to Modernize Finance
American and British regulators have announced an expanded cooperation plan on digital assets, tokenization, payments, artificial intelligence, and financial resilience, aiming to modernize two major financial markets and reduce cross-border friction.
On August 4, the U.S. Department of the Treasury published a joint statement summarizing discussions from the July 8 U.S.-U.K. Financial Regulatory Working Group meeting in London. The meeting included senior officials from both Treasury departments, the Bank of England, the Federal Reserve, the Financial Conduct Authority, and several U.S. financial regulators. Digital assets formed a central part of discussions alongside payment modernization, financial stability, AI, capital markets, banking supervision, and cross-border cooperation.
The Treasury stated: “Authorities provided updates on their respective regulatory regimes for digital assets, including stablecoins, as well as on their work to modernize payment services more broadly.” U.S. officials updated progress on implementing the GENIUS Act for stablecoins and digital asset market structure, while British officials outlined their Wholesale Financial Markets Digital Strategy, including the appointment of Christopher Woolard CBE as the United Kingdom’s Wholesale Digital Markets Champion.
Both governments endorsed regulatory approaches that support digital money while protecting consumers and market confidence. Their joint statement on stablecoins supports cross-border use, comparable treatment of similar risks, and reserves of at least one-to-one high-quality, liquid assets for stablecoins presented as money. The FDIC has proposed GENIUS Act implementation standards covering reserves, redemptions, capital, liquidity, risk management, custody, and safekeeping for bank stablecoin issuers.
On tokenization, British authorities are developing a unified approach to tokenized wholesale markets, where blockchain records can represent securities, deposits, collateral, and other instruments. A 54-company industry initiative involving Blackrock, JPMorgan, and others is examining commercial applications and regulatory conditions for digital securities and blockchain-based settlement.
Payment policy remains central, with officials supporting regulated private digital money across international markets. The Bank of England has published draft requirements for systemic stablecoins, including a temporary £40 billion issuance guardrail per stablecoin and reserve requirements.
The Financial Regulatory Working Group is expected to reconvene in early 2027, continuing the biannual dialogue established in 2018. Future sessions will cover regulatory cooperation, investor protection, capital formation, and financial stability.