The UK Wants to Lead the Tokenisation Race, and 54 Firms Just Signed On

UK Treasury launches tokenisation taskforce with 54 firms

On 13 July 2026, the UK government launched a tokenisation taskforce that brings together 54 financial firms. HM Treasury and the City of London Corporation back the initiative. Members include BlackRock, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley, HSBC, UBS, Barclays, Citi, State Street and Deutsche Bank. Crypto firms Coinbase, Kraken and Ripple also joined. The group will spend the next year building live tokenisation use cases across UK wholesale financial markets. Tokenisation records assets, such as bonds or funds, as digital tokens on a blockchain.

Chris Woolard leads the group toward tokenised repo

HM Treasury's Wholesale Digital Markets Champion, Chris Woolard, leads the taskforce. Woolard is the former chair of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). The group will focus first on tokenised repo, a short-term borrowing arrangement used in wholesale markets. Its wider priorities include primary issuance, tokenised collateral, tokenised funds and payment rails for digital markets. Primary issuance covers a planned digital gilt instrument known as DIGIT. The taskforce will also work on legal and regulatory certainty, interoperability standards, financial crime compliance, tax neutrality and market resilience.

"As one of the world's largest and most international financial services markets, the UK is uniquely placed to become the global leader in wholesale market tokenisation.", 13 July 2026. — Chris Woolard, Wholesale Digital Markets Champion, HM Treasury

Officials project £33 billion in annual output by 2035

The government estimates tokenisation could add up to £33 billion to annual UK economic output by 2035. It also projects £14 billion in extra annual tax revenues by the same year. Both figures come from the Digital Markets Champion's report, published with the launch. They are projections, not confirmed outcomes, and depend on broad adoption across wholesale markets over the next decade. The report frames tokenisation as a way to protect the UK's role in international finance.

BCG estimates an $88 trillion tokenised market by 2035

Boston Consulting Group (BCG) estimates the global tokenised real-world asset market could reach $88 trillion by 2035. That figure dwarfs the current crypto and stablecoin market, which BCG values near $3 trillion. Real-world assets, known as RWA, are traditional assets such as bonds and property issued as blockchain tokens. The taskforce wants UK firms to help set global standards for these markets. It also aims to build the market infrastructure that tokenised trading would need.

Global crypto market sits far below the projection

The global cryptocurrency market was valued at $2.27 trillion on 13 July 2026, down 1.82% over the past 24 hours (CoinPaprika, 13 July 2026). Bitcoin made up 55.34% of that total. The distance between today's market and the $88 trillion estimate shows the scale of growth the projection assumes. Most of that projected value would come from tokenised traditional assets, not from existing cryptocurrencies.

Reeves says tokenisation keeps UK markets competitive

Chancellor Rachel Reeves said the initiative supports the UK's lead in global finance. Woolard has described the shift to tokenised markets as a race between financial centres. The taskforce will report on its progress over the coming year, with tokenised repo as its first live test.

"The UK is already a world leader in global finance and keeping that top spot means harnessing technologies like tokenisation. It will make our markets even more competitive, attract investment to the economy, and drive growth across the UK.", 13 July 2026. — Rachel Reeves, Chancellor of the Exchequer

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