The UK and US governments are setting up a digital taskforce designed to boost innovation and collaboration in digital markets, as they seek to promote financial stability while boosting technological growth.

Announced on Monday by UK Treasury Minister Rachel Reeves and US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, the Transatlantic Taskforce for Markets of the Future aims to align the regulation of cryptocurrencies and digital assets between the two countries, promoting capital market innovation and reducing cross-border friction for companies raising capital.

The purpose of the taskforce is to explore options for short and medium-term collaboration on digital assets while legislation and regulatory regimes are still being developed, as well as options for long-term collaboration and further opportunities for innovation in wholesale digital markets, the US Department of Treasury said.

The US and UK representatives met for a joint roundtable discussion in which they reaffirmed the “deep and historic ties” between the world's leading financial centres in the UK and the US.

The taskforce will report to the finance ministries of both countries through the UK-US Financial Regulation Working Group (FRWG), which will provide recommendations while working closely with industry partners to help drive new opportunities for investors, businesses and market participants on both sides of the Atlantic.

The working group will be chaired by officials from the UK Treasury and the US Treasury and will include representatives from UK and US watchdogs responsible for regulating capital markets and digital assets.

It is expected to deliver a report outlining actionable recommendations designed to boost cooperation in the digital assets space within 180 days.

Commenting on the taskforce, Miles Celic OBE, chief executive at TheCityUK, said that the new taskforce will strengthen the mutually beneficial relationship in areas where both the US and the UK thrive such as deep and liquid capital markets, creating new opportunities in digital assets.

“Ultimately, this should be good for customers, investors and businesses; help to bolster growth on both sides of the Atlantic; and pave the way for even greater trade and investment opportunities between our respective financial and related professional services industries,” he added.

Last week, the US and the UK signed the UK-US Tech Prosperity Deal, a £150 billion ($190 billion) investment package aimed at deepening cooperation in cutting-edge fields like AI, quantum computing, civil nuclear energy and fusion and secure telecommunications including 6G.

The agreement involved many investors, including Blackstone, Microsoft, Google, and Nvidia.

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