UK regulator proposes halving stablecoin capital buffer to 1%, below EU's MiCA

The UK's Financial Conduct Authority has proposed cutting the capital that stablecoin issuers must hold against the value of coins they have in circulation to 1%, down from a previously proposed 2%, according to a framework document the regulator published on Tuesday, June 30, as reported by CoinDesk.

The 1% requirement would sit below the equivalent 2% buffer under the EU's Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) regime. The FCA said the reduction "makes the prudential framework more proportionate for larger issuers while maintaining the robustness of the overall regime," and framed the wider guidance as an effort to make the rules "more workable in practice."

The proposal came as part of formal guidance the FCA is setting out for crypto regulation. It also touches crypto exchanges: under the proposed rules, the FCA said, exchanges would need to hold 40% of their trading capital against potential losses and apply a 40% haircut to the value of collateral when lending or trading with counterparties.

The move follows the Bank of England's reversal of a separate plan to cap the value of stablecoins any single individual could hold — abandoning a proposed £20,000 limit, which CoinDesk put at about $26,500. The two decisions together mark a loosening of the UK's earlier, tighter posture toward stablecoins.

Key facts

• Proposed issuer capital buffer cut to 1% of stablecoins in circulation, from 2% (FCA framework document, June 30, 2026, via CoinDesk).
• That is below MiCA's equivalent 2% requirement (FCA/CoinDesk).
• Proposed exchange rules: hold 40% of trading capital against losses; apply a 40% haircut to collateral in lending/trading (FCA, via CoinDesk).
• Bank of England dropped its proposed £20,000 (~$26,500) individual stablecoin holding cap (CoinDesk).

The real-world read This is a loosening dressed in the language of "proportionality." Two of the UK's tighter stablecoin proposals — the 2% buffer and the BoE holding cap — have both been walked back within days of each other, and the FCA's own document concedes the 1% change makes the regime "more proportionate for larger issuers." Read plainly: the biggest issuers benefit most from the lower buffer. The explicit comparison to MiCA's 2% signals regulatory competition — the UK positioning itself as the lighter-touch venue post-Brexit — rather than a neutral technical calibration. Worth noting what isn't yet settled: this is a proposal in a framework document, not final rules, and the figures here trace to CoinDesk's reporting of the FCA text rather than to the primary document directly. The exact timeline for the guidance taking effect, and any consultation period, isn't stated in the source.

This is news coverage, not financial advice.

Sources

• CoinDesk, "UK to lower stablecoin capital buffers, undercutting EU's MiCA requirements" (June 30, 2026) — Tier 2 secondary reporting; provided the FCA's proposed 1% buffer, the 40% exchange figures, the MiCA comparison, and the Bank of England holding-cap reversal. Reporting on the FCA's own framework document (primary source not directly consulted here). No marketing or sponsored material.