UK Government Launches Tokenization Taskforce With BlackRock, JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs

The UK government has launched a taskforce with 54 firms, including BlackRock, JPMorgan, and Goldman Sachs, to tokenize wholesale financial markets. Led by Chris Woolard, the group aims to generate £33 billion in annual economic output by 2035 by replacing legacy systems with blockchain. The initiative positions the UK in a global "race" against the US and EU to capture a share of a projected $88 trillion market.

UK Tokenization Taskforce Launch

• ▪The group is led by Wholesale Digital Markets Champion Chris Woolard and is backed by the City of London Corporation
• ▪The taskforce comprises 54 financial firms, including BlackRock, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley, and Ripple
• ▪The UK government has launched a taskforce through an HM Treasury initiative to integrate tokenization with wholesale financial markets
• ▪A key goal is for the UK to issue its first tokenized government bond, or digital gilt, by the first quarter of 2027
• ▪The group will spend the next 12 months developing live use cases, with an initial focus on tokenized repo transactions

Market Size Projections

• ▪The projected $88 trillion market for tokenized assets significantly exceeds the current $3 trillion crypto and stablecoin market
• ▪The global market for tokenized real-world assets (RWA) is projected to reach approximately $88 trillion by 2035, according to a Boston Consulting Group estimate

Economic Benefits for UK

• ▪The tokenization of wholesale markets could add up to £33 billion ($44.2 billion) to the UK's annual economic output by 2035
• ▪The initiative is also projected to generate up to £14 billion in additional annual tax revenue for the UK by 2035

Global Competitive Positioning

• ▪Chris Woolard, the former chair of the Financial Conduct Authority, characterized the global shift to tokenized markets as a "race."
• ▪Other major economic areas, including the U.S. and the European Union, are also exploring the integration of tokenization into traditional finance

Payment Infrastructure Challenges

• ▪A significant challenge is developing payment infrastructure that supports real-time settlement and interoperability between different networks and forms of regulated money
• ▪In September 2025, London-based Fnality launched a sterling-denominated wholesale payment system tied to central bank reserves to support such markets