A deputy governor of the Bank of England (BOE) downplayed concerns that Britain is lagging behind other jurisdictions in introducing regulatory regimes for stablecoins, saying rules will be in place “as quickly as the US,” Bloomberg reported on Wednesday.
“Our goal is to make sure that our regime is up and running as quickly as the United States,” Sarah Breeden, the deputy governor for financial stability, said at a conference on Wednesday, according to the report.
The Bank of England is due to unveil its proposed stablecoin rules on November 10, with expectations that it will impose holding limits of 20,000 pounds ($26,000) for individuals and 10 million pounds for businesses.
The BOE drew the ire of many in the crypto industry when it was reported that the central bank planned to limit the amount of stablecoins that individuals and businesses could own. Breeden described these plans as “less of a problem in practice than people might think.”
She pointed to differences in the UK mortgage market compared to the US, where the GENIUS Act was signed by President Trump in July, as a reason why a cap on stablecoin holdings was necessary.
“People in the United States get their mortgages from Fannie and Freddie, and they’re financed in the financial markets,” Breeden said, referring to the Federal National Mortgage Association (known as Fannie Mae) and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. (Freddie Mac). “People in the UK get their mortgages from commercial banks and so the need for limits as we move to a world of stablecoins is one that is less relevant to the US regime.”
The BOE did not respond to CoinDesk’s request for further comment.
