Nephos Group, a UK-founded accountancy consultancy with a specialist digital asset practice, has been appointed as the proof of reserves attestation partner for Agant, the issuer of the GBPA pound sterling stablecoin. Under the arrangement, Nephos will deliver independent ISAE 3000 attestation services to verify that GBPA remains fully reserved on a one-to-one basis against sterling.
Agant is registered with the Financial Conduct Authority under the Money Laundering Regulations (FRN: 1037671). GBPA is issued across four blockchain networks: Ethereum, Base, Tempo and Solana, giving it a multi-chain infrastructure that its issuer positions as suited to institutional payment and settlement use cases.
The two companies also plan a broader strategic collaboration covering joint industry events and educational programmes aimed at raising standards across the UK digital asset ecosystem.
Why proof of reserves matters now
The timing of the appointment is tied directly to the UK’s developing regulatory framework for stablecoins. The government’s approach, which will place regulated sterling stablecoin issuers under the Payment Services and Electronic Money regime and eventually under a dedicated FCA rulebook, is expected to make independent reserve verification a baseline compliance requirement rather than a voluntary disclosure. Issuers that can point to a named accounting firm and a recognised assurance standard such as ISAE 3000 are likely to face a smoother path through FCA authorisation.
Joe David, founder and CEO of Nephos Group, framed the partnership in those terms. “Proof of reserves is rapidly becoming a baseline requirement for soon to be regulated issuers, not simply an additional layer of assurance,” he said. “As digital assets become increasingly integrated into mainstream financial services, the market needs accounting partners that understand both established assurance standards and the technical realities of blockchain infrastructure.”
Reuben Blamey, co-founder and COO of Agant, added that institutional adoption depended on independent assurance. “Trust is fundamental to stablecoin adoption, particularly as institutions begin integrating digital assets into payments, treasury and settlement,” he said. “Independent reserve attestations provide our customers with additional confidence that GBPA is fully backed and correct financial controls are in place.”
Sterling stablecoins and institutional demand
Dollar-denominated stablecoins such as USDC and USDT have captured the bulk of global stablecoin volumes, but they introduce foreign exchange risk for UK businesses running treasury operations in sterling. A credibly attested sterling stablecoin could in principle reduce that friction for domestic payment flows, corporate treasury management and short-duration settlement between UK financial institutions.
The market for that product is still nascent. Agant and a small number of comparable sterling issuers are building out the supply side ahead of clear demand signals from banks and corporates. The FCA’s forthcoming stablecoin regime, which is expected to apply capital, custody and redemption requirements analogous to e-money rules, will determine how quickly institutional buyers can access these instruments within their own compliance frameworks.
For Nephos, the appointment extends a track record the firm says includes attestation work for AE Coin’s expansion onto public blockchain infrastructure. Specialist accounting capacity for digital asset assurance is in short supply in the UK market, and the appointment positions Nephos ahead of what it expects to be a broader wave of regulated issuers requiring third-party reserve verification as the FCA rulebook crystallises.
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