Bank Of England Reviews Stablecoin Balance Limit

The Bank of England may be reducing the stablecoin limit revealed a few weeks ago, according to Bloomberg.

In 2025 stances from the Bank of England have gradually progressed on how best to integrate stablecoins into the economy and set up the most appropriate UK regulatory frameworks. Starting from cautioning against the global adoption of stablecoins based on systemic risk, through to a mixed response from board members of the Bank focusing on keeping the 'singularity of money' and supporting the government's tokenisation efforts, to reports on upcoming account limits that could be enforced.

The latter made the most headlines and caused an industry wide critique, as it was revealed that executives within the Bank were intending to set out initiatives to introduce stablecoin limits of £10K - £20K for UK citizens and up to £10M for businesses. Unlike the U.S. and other regions with more encouraging regulations, a cap on account holdings appeared to be way forward. After this development, as well as a recent speech by Governor Andrew Bailey, this policy may become more nuanced.

In his October speech, Andrew Bailey expressed:

Crypto of the Bitcoin variety falls into the risky investment category, whereas stablecoins used for retail and wholesale payments, rather than just to support crypto trading, fall into the money category, or should do.

Offering a more matured observation of the sector that has so far surpassed $300B in global issuance, the Governor integrated this into the theme of financial transformation and a broader conception of emerging technologies that need to be further studied and considered in today's world, including AI.

The view internally may have moved in a positive direction, with reports on the Bank reconsidering and allowing for certain exemptions on enterprises operating with stablecoins, which typically include transfer of funds, payroll invoices, and treasury management, meaning that the $10M provisional limit may be changed.