Agant has taken a key regulatory step in the U.K. crypto market, securing registration as a cryptoasset business with the Financial Conduct Authority under the country’s anti-money laundering rules. The move clears a path for the firm to issue GBPA, a fully backed sterling stablecoin aimed at institutional users, the company said in a Wednesday press release. Why it matters Stablecoins—crypto tokens typically pegged to fiat or reserve assets—are now central to payments and cross-border settlement in digital finance. The market is dominated by dollar-pegged tokens such as Tether’s USDT (market cap nearly $184 billion) and Circle’s USDC. But as the U.K. advances its regulatory framework for digital assets, pound-denominated stablecoins are drawing fresh interest from institutions and innovators hoping to anchor more activity in sterling. Where GBPA fits in Agant says GBPA will be redeemable 1:1 for pounds sterling, fully backed, and built to operate inside the U.K.’s evolving regulatory regime. The firm plans to link the token with traditional financial infrastructure while leveraging blockchain programmability and faster settlement—traits that could make GBPA useful for treasury operations, institutional liquidity management and cross-border payments. The current GBP stablecoin landscape remains small The GBP stablecoin market is still nascent. Tokenised GBP (TGBP) is one of the larger options currently, with a market cap of about $4.9 million, according to CoinGecko. Other pound tokens, such as VNX British Pound (VGBP) and Mento British Pound (GBPM), have market caps in the low hundreds of thousands or even tens of thousands of dollars—underscoring how early the market is for sterling-pegged coins compared with dollar alternatives. Macro backdrop Stablecoin supply and on-chain volumes have expanded dramatically in recent years, turning these tokens into a pillar of digital finance. Industry data cited in Agant’s announcement points to total stablecoin supply climbing into the hundreds of billions—projected to exceed $280–$300 billion in 2025—driven by uses from cross-border payments to institutional liquidity solutions. Company positioning and next steps Agant, headquartered in Stirling, Scotland, focuses on institutional digital finance. CEO Andrew MacKenzie said a well-designed GBP stablecoin could "provide a strong foundation for innovation in payments, settlement and tokenized assets in the U.K." He added the company is working closely with regulators, financial institutions and global partners as it develops the platform. With FCA registration in hand, Agant is now positioned to roll out GBPA once operational and compliance milestones are complete—adding another contender to a small but potentially growing field of pound-denominated stablecoins as London seeks to deepen its role in digital asset markets. Read more AI-generated news on: undefined/news

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