Lords Peer: Bank of England Cautious on Stablecoin Rules

Lord Kulveer Ranger, a member of the UK House of Lords and co-chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Digital Markets and Digital Money, wrote in an opinion piece for DL News that the Bank of England remains cautious in its approach to digital assets, systemic stablecoins and a potential digital pound.

Ranger said an evidence session with the Bank last week offered a rare candid view into the central bank’s thinking. He said the Bank is genuinely listening to industry feedback, particularly on its consultation into systemic stablecoins, but argued that caution alone will not be enough given how quickly capital and innovation move globally.

According to Ranger’s piece in DL News, the core issue is how much risk the Bank is willing to tolerate within the UK financial system. He warned that excessive caution could leave Britain sidelined as other jurisdictions adopt more permissive or experimental digital asset frameworks suited to their own economies.

Ranger also addressed the Bank’s Digital Securities Sandbox, a controlled environment for testing distributed ledger technology in capital markets. He said there is enthusiasm within the Bank for the sandbox’s potential, but industry sentiment is mixed, with firms questioning the return on participating given the time, capital and senior resources required. He argued that without a clearer pathway from experimentation to actual deployment, the sandbox will struggle to attract sustained industry engagement.

The piece did not disclose specific policy timelines or figures beyond noting that sterling-backed stablecoins currently total less than 6 million pounds on the market, according to DL News.

Based on reporting by www.dlnews.com.