Recommendations of the Transatlantic Taskforce for Markets of the Future

On 14 July 2026, His Majesty’s Treasury in the UK (HMT) and the U.S. Treasury Department published the first ten recommendations of the Transatlantic Taskforce for Markets of the Future (TTMF), signaling a significant policy commitment to closer regulatory cooperation across digital assets and capital markets. Although the recommendations do not introduce new legal obligations, they provide an important indication of the direction of travel for regulators and policymakers in both jurisdictions.

Background

The TTMF was established by HMT and the U.S. Treasury following an announcement by former UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves and U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent during President Trump’s September 2025 state visit to the UK. Its mandate is to strengthen UK-U.S. financial services cooperation, with an initial focus on digital assets and capital markets.

The recommendations will now be taken forward through the UK-U.S. Financial Regulatory Working Group (FRWG), with significant involvement from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), Bank of England, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), and other regulators.

Digital assets: regulatory interoperability

TTMF identifies digital assets as a strategic area in which the UK and U.S. should seek greater regulatory alignment to support innovation, reduce cross-border market fragmentation, and accelerate adoption of tokenization to benefit consumers.

1. Industry-led tokenization initiative

The UK and U.S. intend to establish a one-year industry-led working group to develop and test practical cross-border tokenization use cases. The initiative will focus on identifying legal, regulatory, and technical barriers to wider adoption of tokenized financial instruments while developing best practices for cross-border implementation.

2. Harmonized regulatory treatment of tokenized assets

Perhaps the most significant recommendation is a commitment by UK and U.S. regulators to explore common regulatory treatment of tokenized assets, including:

• Settlement finality for tokenized securities;
• The use of stablecoins and tokenized money market funds as eligible collateral at central counterparties; and
• Greater use of regulatory flexibility to provide timely market certainty.

Although no harmonized framework is proposed, the recommendation suggests regulators should recognize that inconsistent treatment could inhibit the development of cross-border tokenized markets.

3. Joint stablecoin policy

The two governments also intend to publish a joint statement on stablecoins, reflecting a shared objective of supporting interoperable cross-border stablecoin markets while respecting each jurisdiction’s ongoing domestic legislative processes.

Given the UK’s proposed stablecoin regime and the rapidly developing U.S. federal legislative framework, firms should expect increased regulatory dialogue between the two jurisdictions.

4. Promotion of a “multi-money” future

The Taskforce explicitly recognizes a future financial system in which stablecoins, tokenized bank deposits, and other forms of digital money coexist.

This acknowledgment is significant because it reflects growing policy acceptance that multiple forms of digital money may operate alongside traditional commercial bank money and central bank money rather than a single dominant model emerging.

5. International prudential standards

The UK and U.S. also intend to coordinate their engagement at the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision to review the prudential treatment of crypto assets, advocating standards that are:

• Technology neutral;
• Evidence based; and
• Capable of accommodating future innovation.

This could ultimately influence the evolution of the Basel crypto asset framework and the capital treatment applicable to banks engaging with digital assets.

Capital markets

Alongside digital assets, TTMF recommends a series of practical initiatives intended to reduce cross-border friction and improve access across the UK and U.S. capital markets.

6. Cross-border fundraising

The FCA and SEC will explore staff-level initiatives aimed at reducing regulatory uncertainty and procedural barriers affecting cross-border capital raising.

Although no immediate rule changes are proposed, the recommendation suggests increased regulatory coordination on practical issues affecting issuers and intermediaries.

7. Foreign Private Issuer reforms

The SEC confirms that, as it considers reforms to the Foreign Private Issuer regime, it will take into account the FCA’s views regarding the strength of UK disclosure, governance, and regulatory standards.

This may prove significant for UK-listed companies accessing U.S. capital markets if reforms preserve favorable treatment for UK issuers.

8. Market transparency

Following implementation of the UK’s consolidated tapes regime, UK and U.S. regulators will explore opportunities to improve interoperability and transparency between the respective market data systems.

9. Derivatives regulation

The CFTC and FCA will consider replacing existing temporary no-action relief for UK Swap Execution Facilities with a more durable substituted compliance framework while reviewing existing supervisory cooperation arrangements.

This could provide greater long-term certainty for derivatives market participants operating across both jurisdictions.

10. Accounting and audit standards

Finally, both governments reaffirm their commitment to internationally recognized accounting and auditing standards and support continued cooperation between regulators and global standard-setting bodies.

Why this matters

While the TTMF recommendations are non-binding and largely aspirational, they represent one of the clearest statements to date of a shared UK-U.S. policy objective to develop more interoperable financial regulation.

For market participants, several themes are particularly noteworthy:

• Tokenization is moving into mainstream financial policy, with regulators now focusing on practical implementation rather than purely conceptual discussion.
• Stablecoins are increasingly being viewed as part of the future wholesale financial market infrastructure, including their potential use in collateral management.
• Regulators are seeking to reduce cross-border regulatory fragmentation, particularly for digital assets and capital markets.
• Greater UK-U.S. coordination could influence international standards through bodies such as the Basel Committee and, over time, shape approaches adopted in other jurisdictions.

Looking ahead

Many of the recommendations require further regulatory work and, in some cases, legislative developments. However, firms involved in digital assets, tokenization, stablecoins, securities issuance, and derivatives trading should monitor these initiatives closely.

The establishment of industry working groups, increased regulatory dialogue and the prospect of greater interoperability between UK and U.S. frameworks suggest that the TTMF is intended to serve as a platform for longer-term regulatory convergence rather than a one-off policy exercise. As the recommendations are implemented through the UK-U.S. FRWG, they may lead to meaningful changes in the regulatory landscape for firms operating on both sides of the Atlantic.