UK Government to Appoint ‘Digital Markets Champion’ for Tokenization Efforts

The UK government is preparing to appoint a “digital markets champion” to guide its efforts to digitize wholesale financial markets using blockchain technology.

The new role, revealed in remarks prepared by Economic Secretary to the Treasury Lucy Rigby, is aimed at coordinating public and private sector collaboration around tokenization initiatives, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday.

A coordinated push into tokenization

According to the remarks, the government will also launch a Dematerialisation Market Action Taskforce, a body tasked with overseeing the transition away from paper share certificates.

This group will focus on modernizing market infrastructure while the digital markets champion leads engagement with industry players on the adoption of blockchain-based solutions.

Tokenization, the process of issuing and settling traditional assets such as stocks and bonds using blockchain, has been attracting increasing global attention.

By embedding securities directly on distributed ledgers, the technology is seen as a way to enable faster settlement, reduce costs, and increase transparency.

Rigby’s comments indicate that the UK is seeking to position itself as a serious participant in this shift, at a time when the U.S. and European Union are also stepping up regulatory and technological efforts around digital asset markets.

Other Related Read/Listens

• Crypto’s New Power Couple? US and UK Set Sights on Unified Oversight
• UK Softens Crypto Stance: BOE to Carve Out Stablecoin Caps After Backlash
• UK Barclays Bank Shuts the Door on Crypto Credit Card Buys, What’s Behind the Move?