UK wholesale tokenization moved a step closer to reality. On September 14, the FCA and Bank of England published Feedback Statement FS26/1.
The statement summarized 123 responses. These came from their May Call for Input on tokenizing wholesale markets.
Why UK wholesale tokenization matters now
Respondents delivered one consistent message. Specifically, temporary regimes discourage investment. Therefore, firms pushed regulators to move from sandboxes toward full production.
Hedera was among the respondents. BlackRock, Ripple, and Chainlink also submitted views. Hedera used the window to record three priorities. These are interoperability, governance, and auditability.
“Regulatory clarity isn’t enough,” Hedera said. “Trust lives at the infra layer.”
The FCA and Bank of England received input from a wide field. For example, asset managers, banks, and market infrastructure firms submitted views. Blockchain protocols also participated.
Both regulators now plan to publish a joint roadmap. This UK wholesale tokenization roadmap arrives later in 2026. It will include target dates for each workstream.
The regulators accepted that demand. They confirmed that the Digital Securities Sandbox already permits scalable live activity. Consequently, a “clear pathway” to permanent authorization will follow.
Meanwhile, HM Treasury intends to prepare for more Digital Gilt Instrument issuances. The first is set to run on HSBC Orion in Q1 2027.
Collateral dominates the feedback
Collateral dominated the feedback. Respondents rarely cited 24/7 trading as a standalone benefit. Instead, they focused on faster collateral mobility.
The regulators cited a US report. It found that market participants hold an average 7% excess collateral as a buffer. Therefore, tokenization could shrink that buffer considerably.
Ripple has separately backed the UK’s £33 billion tokenization plan. It did so through HM Treasury’s Wholesale Digital Markets Taskforce. This signals how seriously the industry treats the roadmap.
The Bank of England is also developing a synchronization service. This would let tokenized assets settle in central bank money. It targets 2028.
Meanwhile, the Bank’s formal mandate on stablecoins has set expectations. Sterling settlement assets will anchor the next phase of wholesale infrastructure.
Where Hedera sits in the UK production stack
Hedera is not a new name in UK regulated finance. FCA-regulated exchange Archax has issued tokenized money market funds on Hedera’s Token Service. These cover products from Aberdeen, State Street, Fidelity, and LGIM.
In July 2025, Archax, Lloyds Banking Group, and Aberdeen completed a UK-first FX collateral transaction. They used tokenized MMF units and tokenized gilts on Hedera.
That live collateral track record gives Hedera’s submission weight. Archax-issued BlackRock MMF shares on Hedera placed the network inside a regulated workflow. This happened before the consultation even opened.
Hedera competes in a crowded field nevertheless. Canton and private bank chains dominate many wholesale bank pilots.
LSEG’s partnership with Kraken’s parent shows how fast equity tokenization is moving. The FCA’s crypto authorization gateway opens on September 30, 2026. The full cryptoasset regime follows in October 2027.
On the same day FS26/1 was published, the FCA opened another Call for Input. This one covers tokenized gold. Responses close on October 23, 2026.
The UK’s tokenized gold framework moves in parallel with the wholesale roadmap. Hedera’s auditability argument applies equally to gold collateral.
What to watch next
The joint roadmap expected later in 2026 is the next event. It will carry target dates for each workstream. Miss that window, and this becomes a one-day policy story. Hit it with collateral and interoperability workstreams, and it becomes a months-long infrastructure thesis.
