UK Treasury-backed report backs tokenization push with Ripple in wholesale markets plan

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UK Treasury tokenization plan

Highlights

UK Treasury-backed report estimates tokenization in wholesale markets could boost annual economic output by £33 billion and tax revenues by £14 billion within a decade.
The plan, citing Ripple's $1.25 billion acquisition of Hidden Road and Santander’s use of Ripple’s blockchain, demonstrates crypto infrastructure integration into traditional finance and regulatory progress.
Woolard states stablecoin frameworks are slated for 2027 in both the UK and U.S., with UK Financial Services and Markets Act applications opening September 30, despite slower authorization than the U.S.

Wholesale markets roadmap and source report

As reported by CoinDesk, a report led by Chris Woolard, the Treasury's wholesale digital markets champion, puts Ripple among the firms involved in the UK's drive to take tokenized wholesale products from sandbox testing into live markets. The plan covers repo, fixed income and funds, and presents the effort as strategically important for the UK's competitiveness in digital finance.

Woolard says in the report that the shift could bring sizable economic benefits to the country. The document estimates that productivity gains and cost efficiencies could raise annual economic output by 33 billion pounds and lift tax revenues by 14 billion pounds a year within a decade.

The report supports a hybrid model in which permissionless networks provide shared liquidity while permissioned institutional networks are built on top. It cites BlackRock's tokenized money market fund BUIDL on Ethereum, issued with a Securitize compliance wrapper, as one example of how that structure can work, while also warning that chain reorganizations on public blockchains still create unresolved settlement-finality risks.

Ripple's role and regulatory implications

The report says established financial institutions and crypto-native firms are increasingly converging, and uses Ripple as a key example. It points to Ripple's $1.25 billion acquisition of prime broker Hidden Road, now Ripple Prime, and notes the group's regulatory standing across forex and digital asset markets through Financial Conduct Authority registrations and licensing.

Santander UK is also cited for using Ripple's blockchain in a white-label cross-border payments model, where the bank manages the customer relationship and Ripple's technology handles the transfer of funds. That example is presented as evidence that traditional finance is already adopting crypto-linked infrastructure in practical ways.

On regulation, Woolard places the U.S. and UK on similar timelines for full stablecoin regimes in 2027, while arguing the UK is ahead in wholesale policy. The report notes that applications under the Financial Services and Markets Act open on Sept. 30 before an October 2027 launch date, although it also acknowledges industry concerns that UK authorization remains slower than the U.S.

In our earlier article on the UK’s tokenisation roadmap for wholesale finance, we outlined Chris Woolard’s 12-month plan to accelerate digitisation of capital markets, including issuing a sovereign bond on blockchain and enabling tokenised assets to be used as collateral in repo markets. We also noted the projected benefits—up to £33bn in added annual output and £14bn in extra tax revenue over the next decade—alongside warnings that the UK faces intense competition from other major financial centres and needs to keep regulatory momentum.

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