Bank of England Under Fire for Proposed £20K Stablecoin Ceiling

• The Bank of England’s proposed that cap could weaken stablecoin usage in the UK while unintentionally boosting demand for alternative rails like XRP.
• Industry voices arguments the UK risks losing competitiveness to the US and EU if it enforces limits not seen in other major jurisdictions.

According to sources, the Bank of England’s (BoE) plan to cap individual stablecoin holdings at £10k–£20k and firms at £10m has drawn sharp criticism from the crypto industry. However, Critics argue the limits would be hard to enforce, harm UK competitiveness, and put the country out of step with the US and EU.

Moreover, accordingly to a recent tweet from Simon Taylor, the FT report shows how far the UK proposal goes beyond global peers. He noted that the crypto industry is pushing back, stressing that Europe has avoided strict limits and that the U.S. already has the GENIUS Act in place.

Taylor quoted Citi’s Tony McLaughlin, who argued that

Moreover, Taylor emphasized that tokenized deposits and stablecoins will co-exist: the former as a closed-loop banking product, the latter as an open-loop form of programmable e-money that bridges networks and borders. He urged the UK to create a competitive stablecoin regime quickly to remain globally competitive.

Market Implications for Cryptocurrencies

Nonetheless, Tether (USDT) is the cryptocurrency most directly affected by the Bank of England’s proposed £20,000 stablecoin holding cap. It is one of the largest stablecoin by market capitalization (over $120 billion as of September 2025), it dominates global stablecoin usage, including payments, trading, and remittances in the UK.

Following a previous CNF report, the Bank of England (BoE) released a paper exploring Ripple’s Interledger Protocol for payment settlement, demonstrating XRP’s real-world use case. While Ripple (XRP) is not a stablecoin, it is often linked to stablecoin liquidity pools in financial systems.

Recent Analysts also warn that the cap could disrupt UK-based payment flows or exchange liquidity, potentially reducing XRP’s utility for businesses or causing price fluctuations if stablecoin-driven trading pairs weaken. This regulatory debate carries notable implications for Ripple’s native token, XRP, which has long been positioned as a bridge asset for cross-border payments — often in tandem with stablecoins.

As of now, XRP is trading at $3.00 USD, reflecting a 1.17% climb over the past week. If the caps are implemented, UK businesses and users might seek workarounds through non-stablecoin rails, which could increase XRP’s utility in the region and drive adoption.
See XRP price chart below.