The Bank of England has proposed plans to fix how much individuals and businesses can hold in systemic stablecoins, drawing sharp dispute from crypto industry groups. Based on that , individuals could be limited to between £10,000 and £20,000 (~US$13,600–$27,200), while businesses might face a top amount of about £10 million (~US$13.6 million). The proposal is aimed at protecting financial stability, especially by reducing the risk of big deposit outflows from banks. Critics, however, warn it would create heavy enforcement challenges, leave UK users and firms at a disadvantage, and push activity toward more lenient markets abroad.
Industry voices argue the proposed caps are “unworkable” in real-world terms. Tom Duff Gordon of Coinbase said the limits would hurt UK savers and the City of London and even weaken sterling. Simon Jennings of the UK Cryptoasset Business Council warned that enforcing the rules would mean building costly new identity systems, since issuers don’t usually track token holders day to day. Riccardo Tordera-Ricchi of the Payments Association added that such restrictions make no more sense than putting caps on cash or bank account balances.
The UK could come off as more restrictive than other major markets. In the U.S., for example, the recently passed GENIUS Act regulates stablecoin issuers, reserves, and redemptions but doesn’t set limits on how much people can hold. The European Union has also taken a similar decision under MiCA, focusing on issuer and consumer safeguards instead of hard limits on personal holdings. The public argues that stricter limits in the UK risk undermining its competitiveness in the global crypto industry.
Officials like Sasha Mills, Executive Director for Financial Market Infrastructure, argue that large stablecoin balances could ignite sudden outflows that may weaken banks’ deposit bases. The limits are also seen as a temporary step to manage risks connected to payment systems using stablecoins that are already systemic or expected to get there.
The biggest hurdle is enforcement. Regulators would need ways to track stablecoin movements, monitor who holds what, and flag large accounts—no small task given crypto’s decentralized setup and the pseudonymous nature of most tokens. Critics argue there are smarter fixes: stronger reserve rules for issuers, tighter governance and oversight standards, or regulation focused on issuance and redemption instead of putting limits on how much people can hold.
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