UK financial regulator releases stablecoin regulatory plan

In plans released last week, the British government said the central bank would regulate these "systemic stablecoins" and their issuers, while the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) would broadly regulate the cryptocurrency industry. It also said it would introduce fiat-backed stablecoin legislation early next year. The BoE paper was published alongside a separate discussion paper from the UK's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and a letter to depository institutions from the country's Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA). In the letter, the PRA said it hopes the country’s lenders can mitigate “contagion” risks and clarified that the protections available to traditional deposit recipients differ from those available to stablecoin users. “Stablecoins used in central bank-regulated system payment systems present a lower risk of contagion than electronic currencies or other regulated stablecoins regulated by the FCA,” the letter states. Meanwhile, the FCA clarified in its filing that stablecoin issuers will need to seek authorization to circulate fiat-backed stablecoins in or from the UK. (CoinDesk)