The UK is making a serious bid for leadership in the global tokenization of real-world assets (RWA). A powerful working group has been formed under the auspices of the government, comprising 54 of the world's largest financial organizations, including BlackRock, Goldman Sachs, HSBC, JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley, and UBS. This is not just another pilot initiative — it is a consolidated effort to create infrastructure for a market that, according to estimates, could grow to $88 trillion by 2035.
First Step: Tokenized Repo Transactions
In the initial phase, the group will focus on tokenizing repo transactions. This is a logical choice: the repo market is one of the largest and most liquid segments of the financial system. Full digitalization of this process — from issuance to settlement — will serve as the foundation for scaling the technology to secondary markets. According to the report's authors, by 2035 tokenized markets could generate up to £33 billion in additional annual income for the UK economy and up to £14 billion in tax revenue.
Why Now?
Today, tokenized assets account for only 0.01% of all investment assets, but their value has grown by 300% over the past year. This indicates enormous untapped potential. Without a clear national strategy, standards and infrastructure could develop abroad, undermining London's role as a leading global financial center. The UK already plans to be the first among G7 countries to issue government debt securities on the blockchain as part of the DIGIT pilot project, which will send a crucial signal to the market.
Key Elements of Success
The working group is creating nine specialized areas, four of which will form the core: primary issuance, secondary markets, collateral, and settlement infrastructure. Coordination will be handled by a separate group that will ensure system compatibility and conduct cross-border tests. Regulators are expected to take concrete steps: priority issuance of DIGIT no later than the first quarter of 2027, and readiness of the Bank of England to accept these securities as collateral.
The importance of payment infrastructure is emphasized separately. Without reliable tokenized deposits and stablecoins, large-scale tokenization simply will not work. The first real test of repo transactions is planned for spring 2027.
Expert Opinion: The creation of such a group is not just a diplomatic gesture, but a signal that institutional players are ready to move from fragmented pilots to a unified standard. The project's success will depend on speed: in tokenization, the one who acts faster wins. If the UK can offer a working infrastructure ahead of competitors, it will cement its role as a trendsetter in the new digital financial order.