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Homepage > News > Finance > UK regulator makes sterling stablecoin payments priority for 2026 The United Kingdom’s top finance regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), has set ambitious new growth targets for 2026, including support for locally issued stablecoins, artificial intelligence (AI) digitization, and tokenization. According to an FCA press release on Wednesday, the regulator said it will open up its regulatory sandbox—a scheme for the safe testing of products and the support of innovative policy development—to firms wanting to experiment with the issuance of stablecoins. In a December 9 letter to the Prime Minister, the FCA stated that the vast majority of its nearly 50 growth commitments, outlined at the start of the year, have been met, and additional initiatives to support growth have also been delivered. To build on this success in the new year, the regulator outlined its goals for 2026, stating that it aims to deliver a new wave of growth initiatives focusing on “more efficient supervision, the digitalisation of financial services, increasing SME lending, and boosting trade and international competitiveness.” Key plans for 2026 include finalizing digital assets rules and progressing U.K.-issued sterling stablecoins in order to provide “faster and more convenient” payments, as well as deepening U.K. market integration with the United States through the Transatlantic Taskforce for Markets of the Future. “Our reforms help the U.K. maintain its global competitive edge in our world-leading wholesale markets, attract international investment, and lead on innovation in financial services,” said Nikhil Rathi, chief executive of the FCA. “We will continue to embrace a bolder risk appetite to support growth, while maintaining our commitment to protect consumers and ensure market integrity.” The announcement of future support for stablecoins received swift and positive feedback from some industry experts. Tom Brown, fintech and digital asset partner at law…

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Filed under: News - @ December 17, 2025 10:24 am