Bank of England to accept stablecoin issuance applications this year

The Bank of England has defined stablecoins as a new form of money and will begin accepting issuance applications this year as it moves to bring them into the regulatory fold, Decrypt reported. Sasha Mills, the bank's Executive Director for Financial Market Infrastructure, stated that by the end of the year, the BoE will be ready to accept applications from firms wanting to launch systemic stablecoins for widespread payments in the UK. She added that the bank is not pre-judging whether deposit tokens or stablecoins are more suitable but emphasized that stablecoins must have a level of stability equivalent to traditional currency. The Bank of England plans to distinguish between stablecoins used for widespread payments, which could affect financial stability, and those for other retail and corporate use. The latter will be regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). UK authorities are also expected to finalize the country's stablecoin framework by the end of the year.