The enduring partnership between the UK and the US in financial services has long defined global markets. Now this deep and historic collaboration is set to be further enhanced and strengthened by the promise of digital assets. Underpinning this is the announcement of the Transatlantic Taskforce for Markets of the Future earlier this week, which provides an opportunity to align on stablecoins, tokenization, and cross-border market access.
This is a significant milestone. The UK has a strong history of supporting multilateralism and has an opportunity to lead not just with its domestic policies, but in driving international cooperation with other leading jurisdictions such as the US. The Taskforce is expected to deliver recommendations within 180 days via the UK-US Financial Regulatory Working Group, providing a clear timeline for progress.
Blockchain technology is inherently global, and by its nature transcends borders. There is a huge opportunity for closer co-operation between the US and UK on digital assets. The new Transatlantic Taskforce represents the first such agreement in our industry globally, and has the potential to set a template for international crypto cooperation. According to the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), 91% of central banks surveyed are now exploring digital currencies or stablecoins, underscoring the urgency of cross-border regulatory frameworks that avoid fragmentation.
The UK Opportunity
The UK has all of the building blocks to be a global digital assets and innovation hub. With its dynamic open economy, deep capital markets, and extensive talent pool, it is already a global financial services hub. Through leveraging the power of digital assets in financial services, the UK can unlock additional economic growth, enhance financial inclusion and consumer protection, and secure its position as an internationally competitive financial centre.
What’s more, the UK is home to many US-headquartered financial institutions. This makes us optimistic that as UK crypto regulation is established, the new partnership will enable UK companies to lean into the UK crypto industry in partnership with their US peers.
Government backing is vital for new industries to thrive. We’ve seen firsthand how a supportive, pro-innovation government can create a virtuous cycle. In the US, clear regulations have provided the foundations needed for the crypto industry, enabling firms to innovate safely, protect consumers, and build confidence in the technology’s utility. Equally we are now seeing US traditional finance embracing crypto.
The UK can benefit from the ‘second mover advantage’—taking learnings from other jurisdictions such as the US that have already put in place regulation—and develop a distinctive regulatory regime that is agile and internationally competitive. But the time to act is now, with recent research from Imperial Business School warning that without a clear framework for stablecoins, the UK risks losing competitiveness to faster-moving jurisdictions.
Ripple has played a leading role in advocating for digital asset growth and regulation in the US, and we are keen to continue our work with the UK Government to help it achieve its aim of making the UK a world leader in digital assets. While the scope of the new Taskforce is still to be confirmed, there are a few areas that Ripple feels would be helpful to consider:
Stablecoins for cross-border settlement – Supporting adoption of regulated stablecoins in financial markets, including cross-border payments, settlement of large value digital transactions and use as collateral.
Eligibility of tokenized collateral – Enabling stablecoins and other tokenized assets to be recognized as eligible collateral in wholesale markets, unlocking efficiency in repo, margin, and settlement operations.
Cross-border equivalence for intermediaries – Establishing reciprocity between UK and US regimes to enable licensed crypto intermediaries to operate across both markets without duplicative requirements. This could be based on reciprocal recognition of regulatory frameworks, or on exemptions where customers are relatively sophisticated.
Proportionate and co-ordinated rules for industry participants – Ensuring crypto firms and other financial institutions engaging in crypto such as banks and payments firms have access to harmonized, fit-for-purpose requirements, rather than a patchwork of inconsistent rules.
Ripple recently joined an industry roundtable at Downing Street with senior UK and US officials, alongside leading financial and crypto firms—discussions that helped catalyze the formation of the Transatlantic Taskforce. Ripple was represented at the roundtable alongside the UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, as well as representatives from a number of leading UK and US financial and crypto firms.
From Policy to Practical Adoption
The creation of a Taskforce is more than a symbolic gesture—it has practical implications for firms building the next generation of financial infrastructure. Clear, interoperable standards across the UK and US will reduce friction for cross-border activity and give institutions the confidence to invest in digital asset solutions at scale.
For Ripple, which already partners with financial institutions on both sides of the Atlantic, this alignment means a clearer path to deploying technologies like stablecoins, tokenization, and on-chain compliance tools in two of the world’s most important financial markets.
As a US-headquartered company with a major presence in the UK, Ripple is well-placed to further drive US-UK tech innovation and collaboration. Ripple is one of the largest and most influential players in the global blockchain and digital assets industry and is deeply invested in the UK. We opened our London office in 2016, and this remains our largest hub outside of our US headquarters, with over 120 full-time employees and continued year-on-year growth.
Increased international collaboration between the UK and US will further serve to unlock the full economic potential of blockchain technology in both nations. Ripple looks forward to contributing to these efforts.
