UK Proposes Near-24/7 Settlement to Prepare Markets for Tokenization

The Bank of England on Monday proposed extending operating hours for its core settlement infrastructure toward near-24/7 availability, part of a broader push with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to prepare UK wholesale markets for tokenized finance.

The proposal seeks to add weekend and extended daily operating hours to the central bank’s settlement mechanism, Real-Time Gross Settlement (RTGS), and the Clearing House Automated Payment System (CHAPS).

The Bank of England said the expanded operating hours would support cross-border payments and new payment and settlement models as tokenization develops.

The consultation will support cross-border payments and new payment and settlement models based on tokenization developments, according to the joint letter published on Monday.

The BoE is seeking public feedback on the consultation paper until July 3 and plans to publish a feedback statement in the summer.

It comes weeks after the FCA said that tokenization and distributed ledger technologies could make fund management more efficient and support the innovation of the UK asset management sector. 

Call for input on the future of tokenization in UK wholesale markets. Source: FCA

“Fantastic to see the UK setting out a clear vision for tokenization in wholesale markets,” Katie Harries, head of policy for Europe at Coinbase, told Cointelegraph.

“The opportunity is huge — not only for companies seeking new pools of capital, but for the ‘unbrokered’: the many individuals globally who are not able to participate in capital markets today,” she added.

PRA plans consultation on tokenization framework in 2028

The Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) also issued updated guidance for bank CEOs proposing that tokenized financial instruments receive the same regulatory treatment as their traditional equivalents when legal rights and risks are comparable, replacing prior guidance issued in 2022.

The PRA said the letter would serve as interim guidance until it publishes a broader prudential framework following the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision’s (BCBS) targeted review of banks’ crypto asset exposure standards.

Related: Farage faces UK standards probe over $7M gift from crypto billionaire

The BCBS launched the review in November 2025 to examine the prudential treatment of tokenization, stablecoins and permissionless blockchains, with updates expected later this year.

The PRA said it expects to consult on a proposed long-term framework in 2028 at the earliest.

Under the UK’s approach, crypto regulation would largely fall under the FCA, the country’s primary financial markets regulator.

The FCA separately opened a public consultation on its crypto regulatory regime on April 30, focusing on stablecoin issuance, trading, custody and staking. The regulator is expected to fully implement the framework by October 2027.

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