The Bank of England and the Financial Conduct Authority published a joint Call for Input on May 18 setting out what both regulators describe as a "shared vision" for tokenisation in UK wholesale financial markets — the most explicit signal yet that Britain's financial authorities are treating distributed ledger technology as core infrastructure rather than an experimental overlay.

The document addresses areas where firms have sought regulatory certainty: the prudential treatment of tokenised assets, the use of tokenised collateral, and the role of settlement instruments in a DLT environment. Industry feedback is invited until 3 July, after which the regulators have committed to publishing a joint roadmap for digital wholesale market development later in 2026.

"Today we are setting out the principles of a shared long-term vision to give industry the clarity it needs to engage, invest and innovate with confidence," said Simon Walls, the FCA's executive director of markets. "UK markets have always embraced new technology, and that will be central to ensuring the UK remains at the forefront of global wholesale markets."

Concrete infrastructure commitments

The Bank of England paired the publication with a set of operational pledges. It will launch a live synchronisation service — enabling atomic settlement between DLT systems and central bank money — targeted for 2028. A parallel consultation on extending RTGS and CHAPS operating hours outlines a staged path toward near-24/7 settlement, covering weekend and extended daily operating hours.

The Bank is also working to allow tokenised equivalents of already-eligible assets to serve as collateral at central counterparties and in its own central bank operations, a move directly supporting HM Treasury's DIGIT pilot — the proposed live issuance of a digital gilt instrument.

Deputy Governor Sarah Breeden framed the moment in structural terms: "The task now is for public and private sectors together to build on these strong foundations, moving from pilots to production to support financial stability and sustainable growth."

The Prudential Regulation Authority published Dear CEO letters alongside the announcement, setting out updated guidance on the prudential treatment of tokenised asset exposures and on innovations in deposits, e-money, and stablecoins. The FCA separately said it will examine how its client asset (CASS) rules may evolve in light of tokenisation, building on its recently published policy statement on fund tokenisation.

Digital Securities Sandbox: 16 firms in live operation

The FCA's official notes confirm that 16 firms are currently engaged through the UK's Digital Securities Sandbox in the live issuance and settlement of tokenised assets. The sandbox, a joint initiative between the Bank of England and FCA, has moved from a design phase to live activity — the "production" language in Monday's announcement is not rhetorical.

Stablecoin context: a softer floor

The wholesale push lands four days after Breeden told the Financial Times that the Bank was reviewing whether its proposed stablecoin reserve floor and retail holding cap had been "overly conservative." Those proposals — a requirement for 40% of backing assets to be held at the central bank earning no interest, and a £20,000 per-person holding cap — had drawn sustained industry criticism on competitiveness grounds.

Breeden told the FT the Bank was "genuinely open" to alternatives. The timing matters: a central bank signalling flexibility on retail stablecoin restrictions, while simultaneously publishing a production-grade roadmap for wholesale tokenisation, describes a consistent shift in posture. The direction of travel is toward accommodation, not containment.

The US gap

The contrast with the United States is pointed. The GENIUS Act — stablecoin legislation — was signed into law by President Trump in mid-2025, but the broader crypto market-structure bill, the CLARITY Act, remains in the congressional pipeline. The CLARITY Act cleared the Senate Banking Committee 15-9 on May 14, but divisions in Congress — partly shaped by scrutiny over the Trump family's crypto holdings — have slowed its path to a floor vote.

The UK is committing to a 2028 central bank synchronisation service, a near-24/7 settlement consultation, and a cross-authority tokenisation roadmap while Washington is still debating who regulates what.

Industry response

Katie Harries, Coinbase's head of policy for Europe, welcomed the announcement as "fantastic" and argued that realising the vision would require extending it further. "Delivering this model of tokenization requires an embrace of DeFi," Harries said in a statement. "The opportunity is huge — not only for companies seeking new pools of capital, but for the 'unbrokered': the many individuals globally who are not able to participate in capital markets today."

Richard Baker, chief executive of Tokenovate, said the announcement "accelerates the movement of tokenization in the UK, moving from policy to production and providing greater certainty on collateral and settlement."

The Call for Input closes 3 July. A feedback statement is expected in summer 2026, with the joint roadmap to follow.