The UK Treasury has selected Ripple, the US-based blockchain payments company, as a member of a major government-backed initiative designed to modernize the nation’s wholesale financial markets through tokenization.
Ripple joins top financial institutions in reform group
Ripple will be part of a working group composed of 54 organizations, formed under the leadership of Wholesale Digital Markets Champion Chris Woolard and the City of London Corporation. Other members include prominent global financial institutions such as BlackRock, Goldman Sachs, and J.P. Morgan, as well as leading market infrastructure providers Euroclear and Bloomberg.
The government aims to fully replace traditional settlement systems with blockchain technology across wholesale financial markets. This initiative reflects the UK’s ambition to capture a share of the rapidly expanding global market for tokenized real-world assets, which analysts forecast could reach $88 trillion by 2035.
The UK government estimates a transition to on-chain wholesale markets may generate £33 billion in additional annual economic output and boost tax revenues by £14 billion each year by 2035.
By moving established financial activity onto blockchain-based platforms, officials seek to streamline operations and expand the competitive position of London’s financial sector.
Mini dictionary: City of London Corporation, a municipal governing body for the historic center of London, plays a central role in promoting the city as a leading financial hub and supports initiatives aimed at financial innovation and regulation.
Action plan targets digital bonds and tokenized markets
The group has set a 12-month timetable focused initially on the fixed-income sector, which officials identify as ready for rapid transformation. A key part of the strategy involves launching DIGIT, sovereign digital bonds issued by the UK government, and digitizing collateral markets.
Nine specialized action groups will pursue end-to-end deployment of technological solutions. Their brief also includes live testing of tokenized repurchase (repo) transactions, targeted for completion by spring 2027.
| Key Reform Target | Implementation Goal |
|---|---|
| Fixed-income markets | Immediate digital transformation |
| DIGIT bonds | Launch as UK sovereign digital bonds |
| Tokenized repo transactions | Live end-to-end tests by spring 2027 |
Input from market participants will be collected through September 4, 2026. After this feedback phase, the reform program will advance into implementation, ushering in a new era for Britain’s wholesale capital markets.
Ripple is expected to contribute its global technological expertise to support high-volume institutional transactions as the UK aims for digital innovation in its financial core.
