The US Department of the Treasury and HM Treasury have published recommendations from their Transatlantic Taskforce for Markets of the Future, setting out joint proposals on capital markets and digital assets.
The measures are intended to deepen financial activity between the United States and the UK by reducing cross-border frictions and encouraging closer regulatory coordination. They cover tokenised assets, stablecoins, market transparency, cross-border fundraising, swap execution venues, and international accounting and audit standards.
The initiative brings together officials from both finance ministries and financial regulators in each country. It was established to examine how the two countries could update financial services cooperation while preserving the role of their markets in global finance.
On digital assets, the recommendations call for a stronger role for private-sector testing of cross-border uses for tokenised finance. Officials in both countries plan to engage a private sector-led group for one year to examine industry experimentation, practical use cases, and the standards needed to support wider adoption.
Regulators are also being asked to identify common approaches to the treatment of tokenised assets. That work is expected to involve the Bank of England, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the Financial Conduct Authority, and the Securities and Exchange Commission, focusing on issues such as settlement finality for tokenised securities and whether stablecoins or tokenised money market funds could be used as collateral at central counterparties.
Alongside the recommendations, Washington and London released a joint statement on stablecoins. It supports cross-border stablecoin activity and underscores the role of private firms in money and payments, while maintaining ongoing regulatory processes.
The broader framework also states that stablecoins, tokenised deposits, and other forms of digital money should be able to coexist within what it describes as a multi-money ecosystem. In parallel, the two governments said they would support a review of international prudential standards for cryptoassets at the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision.
Capital markets
Several recommendations focus on longstanding issues in transatlantic capital markets. Staff at the FCA and the SEC will explore staff-level options to ease cross-border capital raising, including steps that could give issuers and market participants greater clarity.
One area under review is the SEC’s framework for Foreign Private Issuers. The recommendations say SEC staff are considering proposals for the commission following a concept release and will take into account the FCA’s views on how the UK’s disclosure, governance, and regulatory standards should be reflected in the treatment of UK issuers.
Another proposal concerns market data. As UK consolidated tapes are introduced, the FCA and the SEC are expected to examine whether cooperation between their respective systems could improve transparency.
Derivatives markets also feature in the package. The CFTC and the FCA intend to explore whether temporary no-action relief for UK Swap Execution Facilities can be converted into a longer-term substituted compliance determination, and to review existing supervisory arrangements to assess whether they reflect current regulatory standards.
The recommendations also restate support for what the two governments describe as high-quality, proportionate accounting and auditing standards. The FCA, the Prudential Regulation Authority, the SEC, and other authorities are expected to work with international standard-setting efforts on accounting and audit quality.
Industry input
Officials said the proposals were developed with input from financial services groups in both countries. According to the published material, that engagement showed demand for deeper cross-border connectivity, less market fragmentation, and clearer regulatory treatment for tokenised activity.
The recommendations reflect a view in both capitals that digital assets and capital markets should be addressed together rather than on separate policy tracks. Tokenisation, cross-border fundraising, and supervisory coordination all form part of the same effort to adapt established financial rules to newer forms of market infrastructure.
For the UK, the work sits alongside broader efforts to position London as a centre for digital finance while maintaining ties with major overseas markets after years of regulatory change. For the United States, it is part of a broader push to shape standards for digital assets and to reinforce the role of its domestic markets in international finance.
The recommendations do not create binding rules on their own. In several cases, they instead direct regulators and officials to assess options, report progress through the US-UK Financial Regulatory Working Group, and consider whether existing tools can provide greater market clarity.
That means much of the practical effect will depend on how far agencies on both sides of the Atlantic choose to act. Areas such as tokenised collateral, stablecoin treatment, fundraising rules, and substituted compliance for trading venues will require detailed technical work and, in some cases, formal regulatory decisions.
Scott Bessent, US Treasury secretary, described the effort as part of a shared transatlantic approach to market policy.
“The Transatlantic Taskforce for Markets of the Future reflects the strength and depth of U.S. and UK markets and our shared commitment to fostering economic growth and advancing global standards that reward innovation and competition,” Bessent said.
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