Bank of England sets £40bn issuance cap for systemic stablecoins, drops holding limits

The Bank of England has published its policy statement and draft Code of Practice for systemic sterling stablecoin issuers, revising two central proposals from its 2025 consultation. It swaps per-holder limits for a per-coin issuance guardrail and loosens backing-asset rules. This segment covers what changed, the timeline to finalisation, and how the regime splits from the FCA's.

• Maximum backing held in interest-bearing short-term UK government debt rises from 60% to 70%, with the remainder in central bank deposits.
• Consulted per-holder holding limits are dropped; a temporary per-coin issuance guardrail applies, initially set at £40 billion and reviewed regularly.
• Feedback closes 22 September 2026; the Bank intends to finalise the Code by end-2026, allowing regulated stablecoins to operate from 2027.