The Bank of England and FCA launch public consultation on tokenized wholesale financial markets

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Bank of England (BOE) jointly launched a public consultation on Monday, seeking industry input on the regulation, infrastructure, and market practices of tokenized wholesale financial markets in the UK. This consultation is part of the UK's digital finance market strategy, focusing on tokenized securities and post-trade infrastructure, covering areas such as prudential regulation, tokenized collateral, and settlement tools. Regulators stated that there are significant opportunities in the post-trade processes and collateral management areas for tokenization. The consultation targets banks, investment firms, asset management institutions, central securities depositories (CSD), central counterparty clearing houses (CCP), trading platforms, fintech companies, and others. The current scope mainly involves tokenized bonds, stocks, and fund shares, with potential future expansion. Market participants can submit feedback by July 3. The FCA and the Bank of England plan to publish a feedback document in the summer of 2026 and launch a roadmap for the development of the digital wholesale market within the year.

Meanwhile, UK regulators are advancing the "digital securities sandbox" program, with 16 companies having passed the first phase of review and currently testing the issuance, trading, and settlement of tokenized securities. Additionally, the Bank of England has separately released a consultation document on extending the operating hours of the RTGS and CHAPS systems, planning to gradually move towards a near 7×24 hour operating model, with the goal of launching synchronized settlement services by 2028 to support tokenized assets as collateral for central bank operations and central counterparty use.