On 18 May 2026, the Financial Conduct Authority, the Bank of England, and the Prudential Regulation Authority published a joint call for input titled 'The future of tokenisation: a joint vision from the authorities for UK wholesale markets.' The call for input is at the consultation stage, with a response deadline of 3 July 2026. Responses will shape a formal roadmap for tokenisation within the UK regulatory perimeter and any adaptations to it.
The call for input builds on the Digital Securities Sandbox established under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2023, within which 16 firms are currently testing the issuance, trading, and settlement of tokenised securities in a live, regulated environment. Priority areas identified in the document include the prudential treatment of tokenised assets, the treatment of tokenised collateral, and the legal and settlement infrastructure needed for digital securities issuance and secondary market trading. The authorities link the initiative to HM Government's Wholesale Financial Markets Digital Strategy.
Investment banks, asset managers, fund administrators, central counterparties, central securities depositories, and legal infrastructure providers active in UK wholesale markets each face material questions arising from any final tokenisation roadmap. Firms already in the Digital Securities Sandbox are most immediately affected. Prudential capital treatment of tokenised holdings is of direct concern to PRA-regulated institutions.
The call for input is the first joint statement from all three major UK financial authorities on tokenisation, signalling coordinated policy intent. The authorities note they expect to expand scope beyond tokenised securities in future consultations, leaving open how distributed ledger technology may interact with cash-leg settlement, central bank digital currencies, and cross-border collateral mobility. No final regulatory instruments have been proposed at this stage.
Licentium advises digital asset firms, investment banks, and infrastructure providers on UK financial regulation, Digital Securities Sandbox applications, and tokenisation strategy. We may assist directly or refer clients to specialist UK capital markets counsel through our partner network. Work we undertake includes Digital Securities Sandbox regulatory guidance, tokenisation legal analysis, FCA and BoE regulatory engagement, and wholesale market distributed ledger technology compliance.