An executive at crypto firm Circle said UK regulators could roll out legislation on stablecoins in the coming months.
Stablecoins have surged onto the digital asset scene in recent years, led by Tether’s USDT and Circle’s USDC. However, UK regulators have been slow to issue rules specific to stablecoins.
After Dante Disparte, global head of policy at Circle, met with officials from the Bank of England, he was reassured by their digital asset strategies. Disparte told CNBC that UK stablecoin laws could be passed in a matter of “months, not years.” There was no comment from the Bank of England or the UK Treasury.
Crypto resistance
The United Kingdom lags behind the European Union in creating a regulatory framework for crypto. The European Crypto Asset Markets (MiCA) Regulation is expected to come into effect by the end of the year. MiCA is a global set of rules for crypto and digital assets and includes regulations specific to stablecoins.
The UK has been less enthusiastic about establishing a similar framework for crypto. According to Disparte, much of the UK’s resistance to crypto stems from concerns over the collapse of crypto platform FTX, as well as apprehension around fraud and risks.
“You can also look back, and I think many in the UK and other countries would say they are right in not having acted too quickly and not fully regulating and bringing the environment back on track. territory because of all the problems we have seen in crypto over the last few years,” Disparte said.
Money of the future
Since many stablecoins track fiat currency individually, they do not carry as much volatility and risk as other cryptocurrencies. As use cases for stablecoins have grown, major players in the payments industry have invested in the technology. PayPal rolled out its PayPal USD stablecoin earlier this year, and Stripe just made a billion-dollar investment in stablecoin specialist Bridge.
The technology’s proven capabilities mean the UK could miss out on the benefits of stablecoins if it does not create infrastructure for them.
“In the spirit of protecting the UK economy from excessive risk and crypto, there is also a point where you end up protecting the economy from job creation and industries of the future,” Disparte said. “You can’t have the economy of the future without having the money of the future.”
