Sling Money, operated by Avian Labs, secured approval from the UK Financial Conduct Authority to provide crypto services in the United Kingdom, a move timed to broader growth in stablecoin payments.
The FCA authorisation permits Sling Money to operate as a regulated crypto services provider with a payments-led model. Its authorised product set includes fiat-to-stablecoin conversion into USDP (Paxos Dollar) and EURC (Euro Coin); cross-border transfers of those stablecoins; stablecoin-to-fiat conversion for recipients; and instant local withdrawals in local currency across 80 countries.
USDP and EURC are pegged 1:1 to USD and EUR respectively; their issuers, Paxos and Circle, are identified as regulated entities, a design choice intended to limit price volatility for payments.
Technically, Sling Money will route transactions on the Solana blockchain. Solana was selected for throughput and low transaction costs, enabling near-instant settlement compared with legacy banking rails. The platform’s stack therefore prioritises latency and cost-efficiency to make stablecoin settlement a practical alternative for cross-border flows.
Regulation for Sling Money and compliance
FCA oversight subjects Sling Money to consumer protection rules, anti-money-laundering and counter-terrorist financing (AML/CTF) obligations, and market-integrity standards applicable to regulated payments firms. The regulator has made UK-issued sterling stablecoins a priority for 2026 and plans to bring full cryptoasset regulation into force by October 2027; its regulatory sandbox remains a channel for testing stablecoin products in a controlled setting.
Avian Labs also operates under a MiCA licence in the Netherlands that enables services across 30 EU countries, positioning Sling Money to operate under both UK and EU frameworks. Internationally, converging rules — exemplified by the U.S. GENIUS Act and Europe’s MiCA regime — are cited as creating clearer obligations for reserves, operational standards and custody, which in turn reduce regulatory uncertainty for payment-focused stablecoin operators.
Major payment processors’ integration of stablecoins is noted as an indicator that established rails are increasingly compatible with tokenised payment instruments.
Sling Money’s dual regulatory footprint and Solana-based settlement setup place it to scale stablecoin payments across multiple jurisdictions while operating under clear compliance requirements.
