The UK government has established a 54-firm industry task force to advance tokenization within the wholesale financial markets. This initiative includes notable companies such as Circle, Ripple, Coinbase, BlackRock, Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan, and Morgan Stanley.
The task force aims to conduct a live repo trial by spring 2027 and launch the UK’s first tokenized government bond, referred to as DIGIT, in the first quarter of 2027. Chancellor Rachel Reeves and officials project that tokenization could contribute up to £33 billion annually to the UK economy by 2035.
This announcement follows the release of a report by Chris Woolard, HM Treasury’s Wholesale Digital Markets Champion, dated July 13. Woolard, who previously served as interim CEO of the Financial Conduct Authority, began his role in tokenization in April 2026. The City of London Corporation is acting as the secretariat, collaborating with TheCityUK, UK Finance, the Investment Association, and Innovate Finance.
The task force will focus on developing live, end-to-end use cases, starting with tokenized repo transactions over the next 12 months. Nine action groups will set standards across priority areas within the market value chain.
The report highlights the DIGIT initiative, which is a digital gilt instrument intended to be housed within the Bank of England and the FCA’s Digital Securities Sandbox, with its debut expected in early 2027.
Among the crypto companies involved in the task force are Kraken’s Payward entity, Chainalysis, Fireblocks, and Digital Asset Holdings. This group also includes major banks such as HSBC, Barclays, UBS, and Citi.
Kirit Bhatia, chief digital assets officer at Banking Circle, noted that the challenge lies in creating the infrastructure necessary for tokenized markets. He stated that effective payment systems will need to support real-time settlement and interoperability among various forms of regulated money and existing fiat systems.
Woolard’s report cites a Boston Consulting Group estimate that the market for tokenized real-world assets could reach $88 trillion by 2035, compared to the current crypto and stablecoin market of approximately $3 trillion. This projection includes an anticipated £14 billion in annual tax revenue for the UK.
Woolard emphasized the competitive nature of tokenized markets, stating that the UK must adapt quickly to maintain its position. Chancellor Reeves reiterated the importance of leveraging technologies like tokenization to sustain the UK’s leadership in global finance.
