The U.K. Financial Conduct Authority on Wednesday selected four firms - Revolut, Monee Financial Technologies, ReStabilise and VVTX - to trial stablecoin issuance in its Regulatory Sandbox, chosen from a pool of 20 applicants.
Testing begins in Q1 2026, with results expected to inform final U.K. stablecoin rules later in the year.
The announcement comes as industry leaders warn that proposed Bank of England holding caps could blunt the country's ambitions as a global digital asset hub.
What Happened
The FCA said the four cohort firms will test stablecoin products under real-world conditions with regulatory safeguards in place.
Use cases span payments, wholesale settlement and cryptocurrency trading. Revolut is developing a GBP-denominated stablecoin pegged 1:1 to the pound, while ReStabilise targets institutional custody and issuance, and VVTX is building infrastructure that bridges traditional finance with blockchain networks.
"We are supporting U.K. stablecoin issuers to ensure they can be trusted for payments, settlement and trading," said Matthew Long, director of payments and digital assets at the FCA.
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Industry Pushback
The sandbox launch coincides with mounting tension over the Bank of England's proposed stablecoin holding limits. The BoE published a discussion paper in November 2025 proposing caps of £5,000 to £20,000 per individual and £1 million to £10 million for businesses.
Brian Armstrong, CEO of Coinbase, has called on U.K. users to sign a parliamentary petition challenging those limits, which has surpassed 80,000 of the 100,000 signatures required.
"Stablecoin rules in the U.K. are being finalized, and are at risk of preventing the U.K. from being globally competitive in the digital economy," Armstrong said.
Why It Matters
The broader cryptocurrency authorization gateway for U.K. firms opens only in September 2026, with the full regulatory regime taking effect in October 2027.
Andrew MacKenzie, CEO of sterling stablecoin developer Agant, told CoinDesk the pace is insufficient to support the government's stated goal of making London a global digital asset center.
"The U.K. has a long history of being a financial hub," Armstrong added. "Embracing and encouraging innovation, especially when other countries are moving fast here, is important for maintaining that."
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