The US and UK Treasuries have published 10 joint recommendations to align their regulation of stablecoins, tokenized assets, and capital markets, with a focus on digital assets. This move is seen as a significant step towards facilitating cross-border blockchain-based finance between the two financial powerhouses. The recommendations, developed by the Transatlantic Taskforce for Markets of the Future, set a shared direction rather than binding rules, including a private-sector group to test cross-border tokenization and a joint statement supporting stablecoins. This initiative comes at a time when both countries are developing their own regulatory frameworks for digital assets, with the US implementing the GENIUS Act and the UK introducing its cryptoasset regime. The recommendations emphasize the need for common approaches to tokenized assets, including settlement finality and collateralization of stablecoins and tokenized money market funds. The industry has welcomed this direction, with Coinbase's head of policy for Europe, Katie Harries, highlighting the potential for a complete transformation of global capital markets through tokenization. However, the recommendations stop short of mutual recognition, meaning stablecoins licensed in one country still need to comply with the other's rules to operate there. This highlights the ongoing challenges in harmonizing regulations across different jurisdictions, despite the shared goal of fostering innovation in the digital asset space.
