FCA selects four firms for stablecoin regulatory sandbox
The Financial Conduct Authority has selected four companies to test their stablecoin services within its Regulatory Sandbox program. This initiative aims to assess proposed regulations in a safe environment, ensuring future rules are clear, effective, and support responsible innovation in UK financial services.
Testing the future of digital payments
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has selected four firms – Monee Financial Technologies, ReStabilise, Revolut, and VVTX – to test their stablecoin services within its Regulatory Sandbox program.
This initiative allows these companies to trial stablecoin products in real-world conditions with appropriate safeguards, enabling the FCA to assess its proposed policy in a live environment.
The program is a key component of the FCA's commitment to supporting growth and innovation in UK financial services.
It aims to ensure that future stablecoin rules are clear, effective, and support responsible innovation, benefiting consumers and financial transactions.
Matthew Long, director of payments and digital assets at the FCA, emphasized that supporting UK stablecoin issuers is vital to ensure trust in payments, settlement, and trading, aligning with the FCA's strategy and the Government's National Payments Vision.
From issuance to market impact
The FCA's testing within the sandbox will primarily focus on stablecoin issuance.
The four selected firms' proposals encompass a range of stablecoin use cases, including payments, wholesale settlement, and crypto trading.
Each firm will receive direct feedback from FCA specialists, a process crucial for shaping the UK's future regulatory approach to digital assets.
This focused testing is part of the FCA's broader commitment to enabling innovation across UK financial services, complementing other strategic initiatives such as the Digital Securities Sandbox (DSS).
Testing is scheduled to commence in the first quarter of 2026, and the insights gained are expected to directly inform the development of the UK's final stablecoin rules later in the same year.
Cautious steps, uncertain outcome
While the sandbox offers a practical step towards stablecoin regulation, its limited scope to just four firms indicates a cautious, incremental approach.
The true test will be translating these findings into a comprehensive, agile framework that fosters innovation without stifling it.
For the broader market, the ultimate impact hinges on the clarity and timeliness of the final rules, which remain a significant unknown.