Crypto industry urges U.K. to embrace stablecoins as financial infrastructure - report

[The concept of using stablecoins in the financial system]

Some 30 industry executives have urged the U.K. to launch a stablecoin strategy, warning the country risks falling behind the U.S. without embracing these price-stable assets as financial infrastructure, according to a media report published Wednesday.

“To ensure the UK is at the forefront, we believe a proactive, coordinated national strategy is needed - one that positions stablecoins not as a risk to be contained, but as a financial infrastructure to be responsibly embraced,” the crypto firms wrote in an open letter to Finance Minister Rachel Reeves, CNBC reported.

The U.K. “must act now to avoid being a rule-taker rather than a rule-maker in the digital asset era,” they added.

Stablecoins are digital tokens designed to keep a steady value by being tied to assets like the U.S. dollar, yuan, gold, etc.

The industry is particularly concerned about how the U.K. defines a stablecoin -- "crypto-assets with reference to fiat currency."

“This definition focuses on form rather than function,” the letter said [https://www.cnbc.com/2025/08/20/crypto-uk-stablecoin-strategy.html], as quoted by CNBC. “This is akin to defining a cheque as paper with reference to currency, when both are essentially negotiable instruments backed by regulated issuers.”

Executives from Coinbase Global (COIN [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/COIN]), Kraken, BitGo and VanEck were among some of the industry figures who signed the letter.

Earlier on Wednesday, Reuters reported that China's cabinet is weighing approval [https://seekingalpha.com/news/4487424-china-weighs-yuan-backed-stablecoin-to-speed-currency-internationalization---report] of a stablecoin backed by the yuan as part of a broader effort to expand the currency's global use and bolster its role in international markets.

MORE ON STABLECOINS

* Circle Stock: Short-Term Tailwinds, Long-Term Questions [https://seekingalpha.com/article/4814414-circle-stock-short-term-tailwinds-long-term-questions]
* Circle: My Bull Case Is Now Broken (Q2 Earnings Review) [https://seekingalpha.com/article/4812990-circle-my-bull-case-is-now-broken-q2-earnings-review]
* Circle: Q2 Earnings Not Good Enough [https://seekingalpha.com/article/4813005-circle-q2-earnings-not-good-enough]
* Japan set to launch first yen-pegged stablecoin this autumn [https://seekingalpha.com/news/4486862-japan-set-to-launch-first-yen-pegged-stablecoin-this-autumn]
* Circle buys Informal Systems' consensus engine to power new Arc blockchain [https://seekingalpha.com/news/4486598-circle-buys-informal-systems-consensus-engine-to-power-new-arc-blockchain]