The UK Treasury has published its first report on wholesale financial market tokenization, setting a roadmap to implement the technology by 2027. The report estimates the global tokenized real-world asset market could reach $88 trillion by 2035, and the UK aims to capture a leading share, potentially boosting annual economic output by £33 billion and tax revenue by £14 billion by that year.
Task force of 54 firms to drive tokenization
Christopher Woolard, the UK Treasury's lead on wholesale market tokenization, released the report on July 13, 2026. It outlines plans for an industry-wide task force of 54 companies, including Ripple and BlackRock, to demonstrate concrete use cases over the next 12 months. The group will focus on three priority areas: repo transactions, bonds, and uncleared OTC derivatives, with repo trading as the top priority. The goal is to launch a live trial on blockchain by spring 2027, completing trades from start to finish on distributed ledger technology.
Digital gilt and regulatory framework
A key recommendation is the pilot issuance of a digital gilt instrument, dubbed "DIGIT," by the first quarter of 2027. This would be the first G7 sovereign bond issued on a blockchain, using HSBC's Orion platform within the Financial Conduct Authority's Digital Securities Sandbox. The report also calls for the Bank of England to accept tokenized assets as collateral in its operations and for central counterparties to support them. Separately, the FCA will begin accepting crypto asset regulation applications on September 30, 2026, with the regime taking effect in October 2027.
Industry moves and global competition
The report highlights real-world adoption by major financial institutions and crypto firms. Ripple's $1.25 billion acquisition of prime broker Hidden Road and Santander UK's integration of Ripple's blockchain for cross-border payments are cited as examples. BlackRock's tokenized fund BUIDL, issued on Ethereum with investor checks by Securitize, is also noted. The UK aims to lead global standards as Switzerland, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Japan advance their own tokenization projects. Public consultation on the report runs until September 4, 2026, with task force members and their roles to be finalized later that month.