The UK’s Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, is expected to announce plans to issue digital gilts, tokenized government bonds issued on a blockchain, in her Mansion House speech on Thursday. That’s according to a report from Bloomberg citing sources. The issuance timeframe is the next two years.
Update: The news has now been confirmed.
The idea was proposed by the previous Conservative government in its Spring 2024 budget and industry body, UK Finance, suggested it was an important step in a recent consultation response. Having a digital gilt was seen as complementary to the digital strategy of launching the UK Digital Securities Sandbox, which is already live and relaxes some regulations.
Last month the Financial Times reported that City minister Tulip Siddiq was keen for the UK to start issuing digital gilts, but was encountering resistance from the Debt Management Office (DMO).
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