A transatlantic task force between the UK and US could reshape the future of global finance, according to policymakers and industry leaders.
At the Innovate Finance Global Summit, the panel focused on UK-US collaboration in digital assets delved into the details on the taskforce.
The initiative aims to align digital asset regulation across both jurisdictions, focusing on cross-border market access, stablecoins and tokenisation – which are seen as critical to future market structure.
Without this, markets risk remaining fragmented and innovation could stall.
Rohan Lee, international financial services director at HM Treasury, described the task force as a “fantastic opportunity”, pointing to growing engagement between UK and US policymakers despite recent delays.
“We were lucky enough to invite US Treasury and regulatory counterparts to the UK… and then returned the favour in Washington,” he said.
He stressed that outcomes “should really be determined by engagement with the sector”, adding that the government is “feeling very positive” about progress, with further updates expected before summer.
A ‘big bang’ moment for the City?
The stakes are significant for the City of London. Damien Nussbaum, executive director of innovation and growth at the City of London Corporation, said the shift could rival previous market overhauls in scale.
“This is going to be a big bang right up there with what happened in the 1980s,” he said. “This is nothing short of absolute transformation of the way that financial services works right around the world.”
But without coordination, progress could stall at national borders.
Faryar Shirzad, chief policy officer at Coinbase, said the scale of change means major financial centres need to work together to define what the future financial system should look like.
“It’s hard to think of a period… when the potential… could be more transformational,” he said.
Nima Elmi, VP strategy & policy, EMEA at Circle, pointed to growing consensus in the US and EU that stablecoin issuers should not pass yield directly to holders.
“Genius and MiCA… have been very clear in setting that bright line,” she said.
Elmi raised concerns about proposed UK limits on stablecoin holdings, questioning “why… once you have become so successful… we will reward you by limiting the ability of people to use your token.”
Shirzad also argued that the key debates are already settled in the US; however, the bigger disruption is structural, potentially removing the need for traditional intermediaries such as brokers and exchanges.
“The technology now obviates the need for that intermediation… highly disruptive to the business model of a lot of incumbents,” Shirzad added.
Whether that alignment can be achieved remains to be seen.
But with both governments under pressure to drive growth and maintain global competitiveness, the task force could prove a critical test of how far the UK and US can move together in shaping the future of finance.
