The tokenization race in the UK is entering the implementation phase, as Wholesale Digital Markets Champion Chris Woolard released the first report to the Chancellor, revealing that more than 50 organizations, including BlackRock, JPMorgan, and Coinbase, have joined the Taskforce. The report calls for a 12-month roadmap to develop tokenized capital markets infrastructure, with repo, fixed income, and digital gilts identified as priority use cases.
UK ramps up tokenization push
This week, London continues to push a topic that has been widely discussed but rarely implemented: tokenization for wholesale financial markets. The first report of the Wholesale Digital Markets Champion, conducted by Christopher Woolard CBE and submitted to the Chancellor, aims to build a “tokenized wholesale financial markets system” for the UK over the next 12 months, with priority use cases starting with repo, fixed income, and collateral. The report also notes that this sector already processes over £4 trillion in securities on average each day, demonstrating the scale of the infrastructure that the UK seeks to further digitize.
The essence of this plan is to transform tokenization from a technological concept into an actionable market roadmap. If executed on time, the UK will seek to maintain its central role in the next generation of financial infrastructure, rather than letting standards, systems, and liquidity migrate to other hubs.
Industry heavyweights join the Taskforce
The participation list shows that the UK’s tokenization plan is backed by more than 50 firms and a broader network of members, observers, and market infrastructure providers. Notable names include BlackRock, JPMorgan, Coinbase, DTCC, Euroclear UK & International, LSEG, and LCH.
List of 50+ Taskforce members. Source Wholesale Digital Markets Champion First Report
The report also mentions that Woolard held over 70 meetings with firms, roundtables with standard-setting bodies, and two full-Taskforce meetings. This figure indicates that the report was built on a deep consultation process rather than being just a conceptual proposal.
The economic case is still only forecast-led
The report cites estimates from Barclays and PwC indicating that tokenization could contribute up to £33 billion to the UK’s annual economic output and £14 billion to annual tax revenue by 2035. The report also states that tokenized real-world assets could reach $88 trillion by the same period, up from just 0.01% of investable assets in 2025, which equated to approximately $30 billion globally, after this market grew by 300% in 2025.
These numbers show that the UK is betting on a market with immense upside, but it currently remains within forecasted scenarios. Therefore, the most notable part right now is not the figures that have already been realized, but London’s attempt to capture an early position in a game that is still taking shape.
Repo and digital gilts are the first tests
Repo is the use case that the report considers most critical to proving tokenization can scale, as it is a foundational part of secondary markets and collateral mobility. The Taskforce has been tasked with delivering and validating an end-to-end repo use case, utilizing Digital Gilt Instrument Pilot (DIGIT) or privately issued assets depending on conditions. The report also calls on the Bank of England to prepare to accept DIGIT as collateral within the Sterling Monetary Framework and to consider more broadly how tokenized collateral can be used in the market and at CCPs.
Alongside this is the DIGIT. The report requests the pilot issuance no later than Q1 2027, while paving the way for further issuances in the medium term. If successfully implemented, the UK could become the first G7 country to tokenize sovereign debt. Additionally, Global Balance Transaction Ledger (GBTD) is seen as the foundation to enable different bank tokenized deposits to interoperate, adding another infrastructure layer for programmable commercial bank money.
The roadmap now moves to execution
The report shifts the focus from concept to implementation by dividing the next 12 months into Action Groups covering 9 areas, coordinated by an Orchestrator Group led by the Digital Markets Champion. This group will focus on the end-to-end repo use case, while the appointment of the Action Groups is expected to be finalized by September.
The policy message is clear: for tokenized markets to scale, the UK needs interoperability, legal certainty, and a clearer regulatory coordination framework between HM Treasury, the Bank of England, the FCA, and the private sector. The report warns that without a national roadmap, standards and infrastructure may develop in offshore markets instead of London. Conversely, if executed on time, the UK can leverage its existing strengths in fixed income, FX, equities, derivatives, settlement, custody, and post-trade infrastructure to transition tokenization from pilots into actual infrastructure.
