CryptoSlate
HM Treasury has laid the final draft of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Cryptoassets) (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2026 before Parliament on Sept. 15, narrowing the UK's forthcoming crypto perimeter for qualifying stablecoin payments. The instrument would remove qualifying transfers from the rules for dealing as principal, dealing as agent and arranging deals. It has not yet been made and is not in force.
The relief is deliberately narrow. A UK qualifying stablecoin must be issued through the regulated article 9M activity by a firm holding the relevant permission, so an overseas-issued token or a coin that merely tracks sterling does not qualify on that basis alone. Sending a qualifying stablecoin to another person, or exchanging it for money or another qualifying stablecoin, can fall outside the dealer perimeter. But if the recipient has a right or obligation to return the stablecoin later, the exclusion falls away, leaving ordinary lending or borrowing potentially regulated. Swapping a stablecoin for a different kind of qualifying cryptoasset, such as Bitcoin, also sits outside the payment carve-out.
The draft adds a wholesale-style exception for some title-transfer collateral and repo arrangements involving qualifying stablecoins, where the original holder is neither a consumer nor an FCA-specified category. A safeguarding provision excludes temporary holding of a stablecoin connected with executing a payment, while longer-term custody such as running a customer wallet gets no equivalent relief, a split that departs from HM Treasury's April proposal.
Why it matters
This is the clearest signal yet of how the UK intends to treat stablecoins used as money rather than as trading assets. Payments activity gets a genuine regulatory shortcut, which lowers the compliance burden for issuers, payment firms and merchants handling qualifying stablecoins. The same text, though, draws a hard line around credit-like and trading-like uses, keeping lending, borrowing and swaps into assets such as Bitcoin inside the perimeter.
Market impact
The dealing, arranging and financial-promotion amendments are drafted to begin on Oct.
Frequently asked questions
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What does the UK's draft stablecoin regulation exempt?
It removes qualifying stablecoin transfers from the rules for dealing as principal, dealing as agent and arranging deals. Exchanging a qualifying stablecoin for money or another qualifying stablecoin can also fall outside the dealer perimeter, along with some title-transfer collateral and repo arrangements.
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Which stablecoins qualify for the UK payment carve-out?
Only a UK qualifying stablecoin issued through the regulated article 9M activity by a firm holding the relevant permission. Overseas-issued tokens or coins that merely track sterling do not qualify on that basis alone.
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Does the UK exemption cover stablecoin lending?
No. If the recipient has a right or obligation to return the stablecoin later, the basic exclusion does not apply, so ordinary lending or borrowing can remain regulated when the underlying activity tests are met.
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Do stablecoin swaps into Bitcoin get the payment exemption?
No. Swapping a UK qualifying stablecoin for another kind of qualifying cryptoasset, such as Bitcoin, remains outside the payment carve-out and can stay within the regulated perimeter.
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When do the UK's new stablecoin rules take effect?
The dealing, arranging and financial-promotion amendments are drafted to begin on Oct. 25, 2027, when the FCA says the new regime for crypto firms starts. Parliament must approve the draft first, and HM Treasury's separate payments reform will define longer-term rules.
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