The United Kingdom has published a strategic roadmap to accelerate the tokenization of its wholesale financial markets, projecting that swift implementation could contribute up to £33 billion in annual economic output and £14 billion in annual tax revenue by 2035.
The plan, detailed in the first report by the government-appointed Wholesale Digital Markets Champion Christopher Woolard, prioritizes three core areas: tokenized government bonds (known as Digital Gilt Instruments or DIGIT), regulated stablecoins, and onchain settlement systems. The initiative positions the UK to become a leading global hub for crypto and digital finance.
According to the report, tokenization has progressed beyond experimental phases and is now foundational to the next generation of financial infrastructure. It warns that without decisive action, the UK risks ceding liquidity, market influence, and global competitiveness. The global tokenized asset market is projected to surge from today’s estimated $23–$36 billion to as much as $88 trillion by 2035.
Key recommendations include fast-tracking the DIGIT pilot with a target for first issuance by Q1 2027, expanding the use of tokenized collateral, and developing robust payment rails capable of settling tokenized assets and stablecoins in real time. The report also stresses the urgent need for clear legal frameworks and tax standards to encourage institutional adoption.
Industry leaders welcomed the roadmap. "The tokenisation of financial markets is already happening, delivering onchain funds, bonds and repo that are more liquid, mobile and efficient than their legacy equivalents," said Matthew Osborne, Head of Policy UK & Europe at Ripple, calling the report "a promising step forward."
Kirit Bhatia, Chief Digital Assets Officer at Banking Circle, emphasized the necessity of modern payment infrastructure: "Tokenised markets will need payment infrastructure that can support real-time settlement, cross-border movement, multiple forms of regulated money and interoperability between stablecoins, tokenised deposits and existing fiat rails. Without that, digital assets risk becoming faster at the edges but still constrained by the legacy plumbing underneath."
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