UK Grants Bank of England New Stablecoin Innovation Mandate

The United Kingdom government has announced plans to grant the Bank of England a new secondary objective focused on fostering innovation in payment systems, explicitly including those that use stablecoins and other digital settlement assets. The move, revealed by HM Treasury on August 27, 2026, aims to ensure the UK's regulatory framework keeps pace with technological change while maintaining financial stability as the central bank's primary responsibility. Under the proposal, the Bank of England would be required to report annually to Parliament on its progress in advancing this payments innovation objective.