The UK is picking winners for its digital dollar future while Coinbase CEO cries foul

The U.K.’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) picked Revolut, Monee Financial Technologies, ReStabilise, and VVTX to test stablecoin issuance in its Regulatory Sandbox as regulators move toward a full rulebook.

The FCA said the cohort will trial stablecoin products in real-world conditions, with safeguards in place. The regulator plans to focus on issuance and review use cases that include payments, wholesale settlement and crypto trading. Testing begins in the first quarter of 2026, and the FCA said the results will feed into final stablecoin rules later in 2026.

“We are supporting U.K. stablecoin issuers to ensure they can be trusted for payments, settlement and trading,” said Matthew Long, director of payments and digital assets at the FCA. “It will benefit consumers and financial transactions and help to deliver the FCA's strategy and the Government's National Payments Vision.”

Industry pushes back

However, industry leaders have pushed back against the Bank of England’s (BoE) stablecoin caps, saying they limit innovation and prevent the U.K. from becoming the global hub it aims to be.

The BoE published a paper on Nov. 10, 2025, announcing stablecoin caps of between £5,000 and £20,000 for individuals and £1 million to £10 million for businesses. Armstrong asked U.K. users to sign a petition to Parliament for these caps to be reconsidered. The petition has 81,909 of the 100,000 required signatures.

“Stablecoin rules in the U.K. are being finalized, and are at risk of preventing the U.K. from being globally competitive in the digital economy,” Brian Armstrong, CEO and co-founder at Coinbase, wrote on X on Tuesday. He cited a Bank of England proposal to cap stablecoin holdings.

The government has repeatedly pledged to position London as a center for global digital asset activity. However, comprehensive legislation governing stablecoins and wider crypto activity is expected to be approved by parliament only later this year and won't come into force until 2027.

The regulatory timeline contradicts U.K.’s goal of remaining globally competitive within the industry, Andrew MacKenzie, CEO of sterling stablecoin developer Agant, told CoinDesk in a recent interview at Consensus Hong Kong. He said the introduction of rules is not moving fast enough to support the aspirations of the global crypto hub.

"The U.K. has a long history of being a financial hub," said Armstrong. "Embracing and encouraging innovation, especially when other countries are moving fast here, is important for maintaining that.”