PANews reported on February 17 that Andrew MacKenzie, CEO of Agant, a stablecoin issuer specializing in British pounds, stated that the UK's crypto regulatory framework is on the right track, but its pace of development is insufficient to support the country's ambition to become a global digital asset hub.

MacKenzie believes the UK government has repeatedly pledged to position London as a global hub for crypto and digital asset activities. However, legislation comprehensively covering stablecoins and broader crypto activities is not expected to be approved by Parliament until later this year, and may not come into effect until 2027.

Agant plans to issue a stablecoin called GBPA, fully backed by the British pound. The company has already registered with the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), indicating its intention to target institutional investors, rather than the retail cryptocurrency market. Agant has positioned GBPA as infrastructure for institutional payments, settlements, and tokenized assets.