US-UK Issue 10 Crypto Recommendations, No Binding Rules Yet

The Transatlantic Taskforce for Markets of the Future published 10 recommendations on July 14, 2026, setting priorities for cooperation between two of the world's largest financial centers without replacing either country's regulatory process. As reported by crypto.news, the task force was established in September 2025 by U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves, bringing together officials from both nations' Treasury departments, Federal Reserve, Securities and Exchange Commission, Commodity Futures Trading Commission, Bank of England, and Financial Conduct Authority. Five recommendations deal with digital assets, while the remaining five address capital raising, foreign issuer requirements, consolidated market data, swap-trading supervision, and international accounting standards. New Market Trading CEO Frank Hepworth noted that the cooperation responds to a basic conflict between global digital markets and national financial supervision, stating "The US and UK are doing this because they are two of the world's leading financial markets, and both face the same problem: digital assets are accessible globally through any computer or phone, while financial regulation is still imposed nationally, largely through domestic financial institutions."

According to reports from 99Bitcoins, Ripple has joined a 54-firm UK tokenization taskforce as part of the government's Wholesale Financial Markets Digital Strategy. The company's involvement was documented in a blog post published on July 13, 2026, titled "Beyond TradFi and DeFi: Accelerating Digital Capital Markets in the UK," where Ripple describes convening regulators and financial institutions at the Innovate Finance Global Summit. The taskforce, coordinated by the City of London Corporation as delivery partner and secretariat, is working over the next 12 months with an initial focus on tokenized repurchase agreements and a target of running a live trial by spring 2027.

Under the first recommendation, the governments plan to establish a private-sector-led group for tokenized finance that would operate for one year and test cross-border transactions while sharing technical and regulatory practices with public authorities. As reported by crypto.news, regulators would examine how their rules treat tokenized assets, with the SEC, CFTC, FCA, and Bank of England considering common approaches to settlement finality, regulatory treatment, and market infrastructure. One area under review is whether stablecoins and tokenized money-market funds could qualify as margin collateral at central counterparties. The UK-US Joint Statement on Stablecoins supports a route through which a stablecoin regulated in one country could eventually be offered or used in the other, with officials stating any arrangement should preserve financial stability, consumer protection, market integrity, and safeguards against illicit finance. However, Frank Hepworth cautioned that "none of the ten recommendations published in July creates binding rules by itself. They establish regulatory priorities and areas for cooperation, while the actual rules will still be made domestically."

The UK-US Joint Statement on Stablecoins supports a pathway for regulated stablecoins to enter each other's markets, with Frank Hepworth noting that "both countries also recognize that simply trying to ban or suppress this technology risks putting them at a competitive disadvantage to jurisdictions that embrace it." However, no mutual-access system currently exists under the announcement, as regulators must decide how an overseas stablecoin issuer would qualify, which domestic requirements would still apply, and how authorities would divide supervisory duties. U.S. rules remain unfinished under the GENIUS Act, which President Trump signed in July 2025, with Treasury proposing rules for state-level regulatory systems and separate requirements covering anti-money-laundering and sanctions compliance. Federal agencies did not complete all required regulations by the law's July 18, 2026, deadline, with the GENIUS Act scheduled to take effect by Jan. 18, 2027. UK stablecoin rules are moving on a separate timeline, with the FCA's authorization window for firms entering the new UK crypto regime running from September 30, 2026, to February 28, 2027, and regulated systemic stablecoins expected to begin operating under the framework in 2027.

The City of London Corporation's report projects £33 billion in annual UK output and approximately £14 billion in additional tax revenue by 2035 from the digital markets initiative. However, these figures trace back to the City of London Corporation's report on the Champion taskforce rather than the Treasury strategy document itself, and should be treated as industry-body projections rather than government-verified forecasts. Frank Hepworth emphasized that "suppressing digital-asset technology could leave either country behind jurisdictions that allow regulated development," stating the task force represents an effort to adapt financial oversight while preserving the competitive positions of London and New York. The absence of binding provisions means the recommendations do not grant licenses, establish passporting rights, or remove compliance duties in either jurisdiction, with companies seeking access to U.S. or UK customers still required to follow domestic laws and authorization requirements that apply in each market.