UK pushes roadmap to scale securities tokenisation

UK Finance and consulting firm Oliver Wyman published a report today that sets out four recommendations to accelerate adoption of securities tokenisation in the UK. The report focuses on wholesale markets including sovereign debt, repo, collateral management, money markets and foreign exchange.

The authors compiled input from market participants, infrastructure providers, government and regulators. The report argues tokenisation can improve efficiency, support growth and help retain investment, liquidity and expertise in the UK rather than having them move to other jurisdictions.

Recommendations include establishing a single vision and a clear roadmap with a governance framework so digital assets, digital money and financial obligations can move across systems with fewer frictions. The report advises better alignment between public and private initiatives on digital money and tokenisation to increase interoperability and transparency.

It proposes strengthening the authority and resources of the government’s Digital Markets Champion to coordinate activity and increase accountability. It also advises prioritising markets where the UK already has depth and expertise — sovereign debt, repo, collateral management, money markets and FX — and using targeted initiatives such as DIGIT issuance to build liquidity and market scale.

The report warns other countries are moving quickly to set standards and attract market activity and says the next few years will determine where new market infrastructure and rules are developed. The authors argue that connecting digital assets, digital money and market infrastructure, rather than creating them separately, will produce the largest efficiency gains and support deeper, more liquid markets.

Tokenisation is described as representing financial assets as digital tokens on distributed ledgers. The report says tokenisation can speed settlement, reduce operational complexity and allow more granular transfer and use of collateral.

The report highlights practical steps such as clearer governance arrangements, technical standards to enable interoperability, and focused pilot programmes to generate liquidity and demonstrate improvements in settlement and collateral flows.

Bob Wigley, chair of UK Finance, commented: “The UK’s capital markets are deep, global and highly specialised – and backed by a strong legal and regulatory framework. By focusing on wholesale fixed income markets and by committing to the right architecture, governance and coordination, the UK can lead the next phase of financial innovation. Tokenisation will reshape market infrastructure – the question is whether the UK wants to shape it or adapt to decisions made elsewhere.”

Jason Ekberg, partner and global digital assets lead at Oliver Wyman, commented: “The UK is well positioned to become a leading global centre for tokenised wholesale markets. The opportunity now is to turn those strengths into markets operating at scale. Tokenisation can make capital, collateral and liquidity move more efficiently through the financial system, with the greatest potential coming from connecting digital assets, money, and market infrastructure rather than developing them in isolation.”

The report calls on government, regulators and industry to agree a common roadmap and allocate resources to supervision, technology and market infrastructure if the UK is to develop internationally connected digital markets.