UK Regulator Appoints New Deputy CEO to Oversee Crypto and Stablecoin Regulation

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) of the United Kingdom has appointed a new Deputy Chief Executive Officer (CEO) to oversee the regulation of stablecoins and cryptocurrency firms in the country.

According to a press release by the FCA, the agency created the role to reflect its expanding remit following the integration of the Payment Systems Regulator. The new deputy CEO, Sarah Pritchard, will, through her role, support the FCA's expanding international focus, which is geared towards supporting the country's growth and competitiveness.

FCA Appoints New Deputy CEO

Pritchard joined the FCA in June 2021 and was leading the supervision, policy, and competition division alongside other employees. Recently, she has been primarily in charge of just the consumers and competition division. 

The new CEO has also been responsible for the FCA's international work, overseeing the last G20/Financial Stability Board work on leverage in non-banking financial institutions. 

Nikhil Rathi, CEO of the FCA, said: "Since joining us, Sarah helped bring together our supervision, policy, and competition functions and has led some of our most high-profile work, for example, the once-in-a-generation overhaul of the listing rules and landmark work on financial advice and guidance… Sarah's breadth of experience, in both public and private sectors, makes her ideally placed to help me drive this."

Regulating The UK Crypto Sector

In addition to her new role of overseeing crypto and stablecoin regulation, Pritchard will also be responsible for ‘Buy Now Pay Later’ activities in the UK. The FCA revealed that she has already taken up the deputy CEO role, so there will be no immediate change to her areas of responsibility.

Talking about her appointment, the new deputy CEO said: "The last 4 years has been marked by significant reform. I am looking forward to working even more closely with Nikhil, so there is no let up in the pace of change, and to ensure we have the right relationships, domestically and internationally, to deliver our ambitious strategy."

The latest appointment comes as the FCA looks to establish comprehensive and clear regulation for the local crypto sector. The UK government has been consulting on new crypto rules since 2023 but finally released a draft legislation in late April.