Avian Labs’ Sling Money wins UK regulatory green light as stablecoin payments pick up steam
Avian Labs, the startup behind peer-to-peer payments app Sling Money, has secured approval from the U.K.’s Financial Conduct Authority to operate as a crypto services provider — a major step in the company’s European expansion after it obtained a Dutch MiCA license in April.
The FCA nod puts Sling among a growing set of crypto payments firms receiving formal regulatory backing in key markets, at a time when stablecoin-based transfers are being adopted as a faster, cheaper alternative to traditional cross-border rails. The trend has also drawn increased scrutiny, as regulators weigh how crypto services that look and act like mainstream financial infrastructure should be overseen.
How Sling works
- Stablecoins: Sling enables users to send and receive Paxos’ dollar stablecoin USDP and Circle’s euro stablecoin EURC.
- Bank integration: Users can link Sling to their bank accounts, allowing funds to be moved directly between banks and the app, or held in-app.
- Settlement layer: Transfers are settled on the Solana blockchain, enabling near-instant global transfers of digital dollars and euros.
- Local payouts: Through partnerships with regulated local providers, Sling offers instant local-currency withdrawals in around 80 countries, per the company.
Availability and regulatory footprint
- The app is currently running as a closed beta in the U.K.
- Avian Labs is already registered as a Money Services Business with the U.S. Treasury.
- In April the company received a license under the EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) framework from the Dutch regulator, giving it access across the 30 countries in the European Economic Area.
Why it matters
Sling’s approvals underscore a broader shift: stablecoins and blockchain settlement are being integrated into consumer payments products and gaining legitimacy through licensing. That opens potential for faster, cheaper cross-border transfers, but also highlights why regulators are closely monitoring services that blur the lines between crypto innovation and traditional finance.
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