The Bank of England and the Financial Conduct Authority released a joint feedback statement, FS26/1, based on input from 123 industry stakeholders. The consensus identifies post-trade processes, such as liquidity management and margin calls, as the primary use cases for asset tokenization in wholesale markets.
Research by UK Finance and Oliver Wyman suggests that tokenization could decrease excess collateral buffers by up to 30%. This reduction aims to free up capital currently held to mitigate operational friction and settlement delays.
Regulators plan to develop a joint roadmap for tokenization by late 2026, which will address issuance, settlement, and collateral treatment. The Bank of England intends to define eligibility criteria for tokenized collateral under the UK EMIR framework by the end of 2026.
Operational milestones include system upgrades for digital ledger connectivity in 2027 and a synchronized service for the 16 firms currently in the Digital Securities Sandbox by 2028. The FCA has also launched a consultation on tokenized gold, which remains open until 23 October 2026.
