PANews reported on February 11 that according to The Block, Andrew Bailey, Governor of the Bank of England, pointed out that Bitcoin and stablecoins require different regulatory measures, among which the regulatory threshold for stablecoins will be higher. At the same time, he confirmed that the central bank's digital currency is still under study. On Tuesday, Bailey gave a speech at the Booth School of Business at the University of Chicago in London, discussing changes in financial markets and their impact on stability, and reflecting on possible changes in the global cryptocurrency regulatory environment, especially after Trump's election.
Bailey said that the Trump administration's cryptocurrency regulatory reform plan is still unclear, and the Biden administration, especially the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), faces difficulties in formulating a regulatory framework and has turned to taking action through the courts, which has brought challenges and a gap in the consistency of the regulatory framework. In the UK, Bailey divides the cryptocurrency industry into two parts: cryptocurrencies that are not included in the banking system and stablecoins. He called the former a "pure investment risk" because of its high volatility, non-traditional currency, and he is not optimistic about its becoming a currency. But Bailey also said that he understands that people take a portfolio approach to investing in cryptocurrencies after understanding the risks. For stablecoins, Bailey believes that they fulfill some of the functions of currency, especially in payment, and have support, but stablecoins also show the characteristics of mutual funds and lack transparency. Therefore, Bailey emphasized the need to formulate reasonable regulatory standards, especially in the field of payment, and stablecoins should be properly regulated like currencies.
As for a potential central bank digital currency or “digital pound,” Bailey said there were huge differences with stablecoins, which the Bank of England is working on with the U.K. government.
