Full Breakdown
UK Launches 54-Member Taskforce to Scale Tokenisation of Wholesale Financial Markets
7/14/2026, 12:16:04 PM
Core Initiative
On 13 July 2024 HM Treasury’s Wholesale Digital Markets Champion Chris Woolard CBE released an inaugural sector report to Chancellor Rachel Reeves. The report outlines a 12-month programme for a cross-industry taskforce of 54 firms to move tokenisation of wholesale markets from pilots to live, end-to-end use cases. The first priority is a tokenised repurchase-agreement (repo) transaction, with a target to demonstrate a complete workflow—including issuance, settlement and collateral use—by spring 2025. The roadmap also calls for the United Kingdom’s first tokenised government bond (the “digital gilt” or DIGIT) to be issued by the first quarter of 2027.
Background & Context
The UK has already run a Digital Gilt Instrument pilot announced in November 2024, followed by a July 2025 update that added on-chain settlement and secondary-market development. In February 2025 the Treasury appointed HSBC’s Orion platform to support the pilot. Internationally, the United States and the European Union are accelerating their own tokenisation strategies, prompting the UK to formalise a national vision to retain its status as the world’s leading wholesale capital-markets centre.
Key Figures & Groups
- Chris Woolard CBE – Wholesale Digital Markets Champion, HM Treasury.
- Rachel Reeves – Chancellor of the Exchequer.
- Chris Hayward – Policy Chairman, City of London Corporation.
- Taskforce members – BlackRock, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley, HSBC, UBS, Barclays, Coinbase, Circle, Ripple, Kraken, DTCC, Euroclear, among others (total 54 firms).
- Supporting bodies – City of London Corporation, TheCityUK, Investment Association, UK Finance, Innovate Finance.
Timeline
- 13 July 2024 – Report published; taskforce convened.
- Next 12 months – Nine Action Groups develop standards, legal frameworks and tax neutrality; deliver live tokenised repo prototype.
- Spring 2025 – Expected live demo of end-to-end tokenised repo.
- Q1 2027 – Issuance of the first tokenised government bond (DIGIT).
Data & Statistics
- Tokenised real-world assets could reach $88 trillion globally by 2035 (Boston Consulting Group).
- HM Treasury estimates tokenisation could add up to £33 billion to UK annual output and £14 billion in tax revenue by 2035.
- The UK processes more than £4 trillion in securities transactions daily; tokenised assets comprised 0.01 % of investment assets in 2025 but grew ?300 % that year.
Why It Matters
Proponents argue tokenisation will boost liquidity, lower settlement costs, enhance transparency and create new collateral sources, thereby strengthening the resilience of the UK financial system. Achieving scale could cement the UK’s influence over emerging global standards for digital market infrastructure.
Official Statements & Responses
HM Treasury frames the plan as a “joined-up national vision” requiring clear regulatory, legal and tax frameworks, as well as interoperability standards. The City of London Corporation emphasises the need for “trusted legal and regulatory frameworks” to support the transition. Industry groups—including TheCityUK and UK Finance—have pledged coordination with the taskforce to deliver the outlined use cases.
Criticism & Opposition
Public sources do not present organized criticism of the initiative; the narrative is uniformly supportive, highlighting the risk of “losing out” if the UK does not match the pace of other jurisdictions.
Verbatim Quotes
- “Wholesale Digital Markets Champion, Chris Woolard said: “As one of the world’s largest and most international financial services markets, the UK is uniquely placed to become the global leader in wholesale market tokenisation.” — Chris Woolard, CBE, Wholesale Digital Markets Champion
- “ Policy Chairman of the City of London Corporation, Chris Hayward said: “The UK has a once-in-a-generation opportunity to lead a digital Big Bang in financial services.” — Chris Hayward, Policy Chairman, City of London Corporation
- “ Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves said: “The UK is already a world leader in global finance and keeping that top spot means harnessing technologies like tokenisation.” — Rachel Reeves, Chancellor of the Exchequer
- “Onchain funds, bonds and repo aren’t experiments,” — Ripple, corporate statement
- “For the UK to secure a role in creating new standards for international financial markets, it must respond at the same pace as the fastest-moving countries.” — Chris Woolard, HM Treasury
What’s Next
The taskforce will establish nine specialised Action Groups to address primary issuance, secondary markets, collateral management, settlement infrastructure, regulatory certainty, interoperability, financial-crime compliance, tax neutrality and system resilience. It will also lobby the Bank of England to accept digital gilts as collateral and to integrate tokenised payment rails, including regulated stablecoins, into wholesale settlement processes.
