The world's largest financial institutions, including BlackRock, JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs, HSBC, Morgan Stanley, and UBS, have joined a new asset tokenization working group established with the support of the UK government. This is not just another pilot project — it is a signal that institutional capital is seriously targeting the transformation of capital markets through blockchain.
A total of 54 companies are participating in the initiative, and their goal is to collaboratively develop standards for asset digitalization. The first practical case will be the tokenization of REPO transactions — a key money market instrument. In my assessment, the choice of this particular segment is no coincidence: REPO transactions are the bread and butter of global liquidity, and moving them onto blockchain could dramatically increase the speed and transparency of interbank operations.
Numbers That Change Everything
According to estimates from the UK Treasury, by 2035, tokenized markets could contribute up to £33 billion in additional GDP to the country's economy annually and generate up to £14 billion in tax revenue. Meanwhile, the current share of tokenized assets in investment portfolios is only 0.01%, but their value has surged by 300% over the past year.
Forecasts for the real-world asset (RWA) market are even more impressive: its volume is expected to grow from the current $3 trillion (mainly driven by stablecoins and cryptocurrencies) to $88 trillion by 2035. This is not just growth — it is a tectonic shift that will reshape the landscape of global finance.
Speed Decides Everything
The report's authors emphasize: in the race for tokenization, the winner is the one who acts fastest. Countries and companies that first implement standards and infrastructure will gain control over liquidity and the right to set the rules of the game. Delay risks having standards formed abroad, which would undermine London's status as a global financial center.
The UK already has a head start: it plans to become the first G7 country to issue government debt securities on blockchain as part of the DIGIT pilot project. Key deadlines are a launch no later than the first quarter of 2027 and the Bank of England's readiness to accept these securities as collateral.
Architecture of the New System
The working group is divided into nine specialized areas, four of which will form the core: primary issuance, secondary markets, collateral, and settlement infrastructure. The first end-to-end transaction will be a full REPO cycle — from initiation to completion. According to analysts, this case will become the catalyst for scaling tokenization in secondary markets.
The critical importance of payment infrastructure is separately emphasized. Without reliable tokenized deposits and stablecoins, large-scale tokenization simply will not work. This means we will see not just asset tokenization, but the creation of an entire ecosystem of digital money and settlements.
My conclusion: the creation of this group is not a bureaucratic formality, but a clear signal to the market. When giants like BlackRock and JPMorgan sit at the same table with regulators, it means tokenization is moving from the experimental stage to the implementation stage. The first real test of a REPO transaction is expected by spring 2027. Investors should closely monitor this process — this is where the standards for the next decade will be set.