The UK Is the Only Country Seriously Proposing Limits on How Much Stablecoin You Can Hold

[ed]

The Bank of England made headlines in late 2025 when it proposed temporary holding limits of £20,000 per individual and £10 million per business for sterling-denominated stablecoins. The proposal also required issuers to hold at least 40% of backing assets as deposits at the central bank. The crypto and fintech industries pushed back hard, arguing the requirements would make UK-issued stablecoins uncompetitive compared to those operating under more flexible regimes, particularly in the US. In response, the Bank of England has since signaled it is "looking very hard" at alternatives, acknowledging that parts of its earlier approach may have been overly conservative.

A look across other major economies shows just how isolated the UK's approach is. The EU's MiCA regulation focuses on issuer rules and disclosure rather than individual balance limits. The US GENIUS Act, enacted in July 2025, requires 1:1 reserve backing from issuers but sets no cap on how much a user can hold. Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong, and the UAE all have stablecoin frameworks in place, but none follow the UK-style retail cap model. The Bank of England is expected to publish revised draft rules in mid-2026, and whether it keeps any form of holding limit will be closely watched by regulators worldwide.

[cryptoenthusiast]

£20,000 individual holding limit being uniquely restrictive with no equivalent in EU US Japan Singapore Hong Kong UAE