The Financial Conduct Authority and Bank of England, including the Prudential Regulation Authority, have issued a joint call for input on how to support the safe adoption of tokenisation in UK wholesale financial markets. Focused on tokenised securities such as bonds, equities and fund units, the paper sets out a shared regulatory vision and an initial roadmap for issuance, trading, settlement and safekeeping, while indicating that tokenised and non-tokenised infrastructures should coexist and that regulatory treatment should generally remain aligned where legal rights and risks are equivalent. Near-term commitments centre on areas where firms have sought greater clarity. Sixteen firms are already in the Digital Securities Sandbox, and the authorities plan to define a long-term settlement regime and a route from the sandbox to permanent authorisation, while considering whether the sandbox or wider Central Securities Depositories Regulation framework needs further change. For Prudential Regulation Authority regulated banks, building societies and designated investment firms, tokenised traditional assets will in general receive the same prudential treatment as non-tokenised equivalents where legal rights are identical and underlying risks are comparable. The Bank will consider tokenised assets as collateral for central clearing and its Sterling Monetary Framework operations, including the Treasury’s DIGIT pilot, and plans a synchronisation service by 2028 to let digital asset ledgers settle in sterling central bank money via real-time gross settlement after a live lab with 18 participants. The paper also says the Digital Securities Sandbox will shortly be expanded to permit certain stablecoins for settlement, alongside consultation on longer real-time gross settlement and CHAPS settlement hours. On custody, the FCA is not proceeding with its proposal to apply CASS 17 to specified investment cryptoassets and will assess firms against the applicable CASS 6 requirements while it considers whether a different safeguarding framework is needed. Responses are due by 3 July 2026, followed by workshops, a response statement over the summer and a final cross-authority roadmap later this year, with most rule consultations expected in 2027.
Financial Conduct Authority2026-05-18
United Kingdom's Financial Conduct Authority and Bank of England launch wholesale tokenisation call for input with DSS exit plans and RTGS synchronisation by 2028
The Financial Conduct Authority and the Bank of England, including the Prudential Regulation Authority, have issued a joint call for input on supporting the safe adoption of tokenisation in UK wholesale financial markets, setting out a shared regulatory vision and initial roadmap for tokenised securities across issuance, trading, settlement and safekeeping. They signal coexistence with non-tokenised infrastructures and broadly aligned regulatory treatment where legal rights and risks are equivalent. The authorities outline near-term steps for the Digital Securities Sandbox, including a defined route to permanent authorisation, potential changes to the Central Securities Depositories Regulation framework, expanded use of certain stablecoins for settlement, and a Bank of England synchronisation service by 2028 to enable settlement of digital asset ledgers in sterling central bank money via real-time gross settlement. They also clarify that Prudential Regulation Authority regulated firms will generally apply the same prudential treatment to tokenised traditional assets as to non-tokenised equivalents.