The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has opened applications for a new scheme designed to help shape the future of stablecoin payments in the UK.

The ‘stablecoin sprint’, taking place in March 2026, will bring together innovators, consumer groups, regulators, government, and industry to share policies and define standards for the digital currency.

The sprint is open to FinTechs ; payment institutions, including electronic money companies and commercial acquirers; banks and other regulated traditional financial institutions; technology providers; large companies using stablecoins and stablecoin issuers; consultants; trade bodies; law firms; consumer advocacy groups; and merchant advocacy groups.

Those with experience as product managers, proposition and strategy managers, digital asset advisers, founders or executives of FinTech companies, and managers of distributed ledger technologies or stablecoin infrastructure and software are also invited to register.

The initiative will focus on a range of topics, including retail payments, cross-border payments, e-commerce and business-to-business (B2B) transactions, and remittances.

This will be followed in May by a roundtable on trade payments, during which the group will focus on trade payments, including B2B and trade finance applications, and related payment flows (domestic and international).

Those interested in participating should complete an application form by midnight on Wednesday 4 February 2026.

“We'll let you know whether you have secured a place at the Stablecoin Sprint and / or roundtable by 13 February 2026,” the FCA said in a statement.

“We want to develop a regulatory framework for stablecoin payments to unlock faster, cheaper and trusted payments while protecting consumers and markets,” the FCA explained.

The initiative follows a consultation by the UK watchdog in 2025 on proposals relating to the issuance of qualified stablecoins, the safeguarding of crypto-assets, and the definition of prudential capital and liquidity requirements for the issuance and custody of stablecoins.

It also consulted on ideas for applying the FCA Handbook to regulated crypto activities, including stablecoin issuance, and on the disclosure of qualifying stablecoins issued in the UK.

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