Ripple Joins UK Treasury Tokenization Push as Working Group Targets Digital Gilts, 2027 Repo Tests

The UK Treasury has officially brought Ripple into a large-scale reform aimed at tokenizing wholesale financial markets, placing the technology company on a special 54-member working group led under the auspices of Wholesale Digital Markets Champion Chris Woolard and the City of London Corporation. The program is designed to move market infrastructure away from legacy settlement systems and onto blockchain platforms, with the United Kingdom seeking a meaningful position in a global tokenized real-world asset market projected to reach about $88 trillion by 2035.

What Happened

Ripple has joined a UK government-backed working group focused on the tokenization of wholesale markets. The group operates under Wholesale Digital Markets Champion Chris Woolard in partnership with the City of London Corporation and consists of 54 participants. According to the source, the initiative is structured to replace traditional legacy settlement systems with blockchain-based platforms.

London’s approach is framed around commercial opportunities. The global market for tokenized real-world assets is expected to reach approximately $88 trillion by 2035, and the United Kingdom intends to secure a key share of that market. Government estimates indicate that moving wholesale markets on-chain could unlock up to £33 billion in annual economic output and up to £14 billion in additional annual tax receipts by 2035.

Ripple will work on the same committee as major financial institutions and infrastructure providers, including BlackRock, Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan, Euroclear and Bloomberg. The source indicates the government is seeking battle-tested networks, and Ripple is expected to contribute established international technological expertise capable of handling institutional-scale volumes.

The working group’s next 12 months are tied to firm deadlines, with an immediate focus on the fixed-income market, identified as the most advanced sector for near-term disruption. Priorities include the launch of DIGIT, the United Kingdom’s sovereign digital bonds, and the transition of collateral markets into a digital format. In parallel, nine dedicated action groups have been tasked with deploying end-to-end technology use cases and conducting full live testing of tokenized repo transactions by spring 2027. Feedback from market participants on the first stage of the reform will be collected until September 4, 2026, after which the project is scheduled to move directly into practical implementation. The initiative and timeline are detailed in the Wholesale Digital Markets Champion First Report.

Market Reaction

The update centers on market infrastructure and policy design. The source material focuses on the working group’s mandate, timelines and targeted market segments rather than near-term price or volume changes in crypto assets.

Trading and On-Chain Activity

The initiative calls for blockchain platforms to underpin wholesale settlement, including live testing of tokenized repo transactions by spring 2027. Specific networks or assets to be used are not identified in the source. The immediate emphasis is on fixed income and collateral markets, with actions organized to deliver end-to-end use cases and operational trials under defined deadlines.

Why This Matters Now

The United Kingdom is positioning to capture a share of an expected multitrillion-dollar tokenization opportunity by 2035. Bringing Ripple into the official working group alongside firms such as BlackRock, Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan, Euroclear and Bloomberg signals a push to align policy, technology and market infrastructure within a coordinated framework. The government’s estimates—up to £33 billion in annual output and up to £14 billion in tax receipts by 2035—underscore the scale of value policymakers believe could be realized by moving wholesale markets on-chain.

The fixed-income focus and the launch of sovereign digital bonds under the DIGIT banner concentrate attention on parts of the market where digitization and settlement modernization may deliver immediate operational benefits. The transition of collateral markets into a digital format is also prioritized, indicating where early production-grade workflows are intended to emerge.

Broader Market Context

The working group is established under Wholesale Digital Markets Champion Chris Woolard with the City of London Corporation, bringing together 54 participants to coordinate tokenization across wholesale market functions. The initiative pursues complete replacement of legacy settlement rails with blockchain systems, reflecting London’s commercially oriented plan to modernize institutional market plumbing. Against a projected $88 trillion tokenized real-world asset market by 2035, the UK’s strategy is to secure a key share by moving decisively on sovereign debt, collateral and repo use cases first.

Implications for Investors and Traders

For market participants, the design choices laid out in the program point to where tokenization efforts are being concentrated: fixed income and collateral management. The emphasis on sovereign digital bonds (DIGIT) and tokenized repo testing signals that liquidity, pricing and settlement processes in these segments are likely to be the earliest touchpoints for on-chain workflows if the roadmap proceeds as described in the source. Ripple’s presence on the committee alongside major financial institutions suggests the effort is geared toward networks and tooling with the capacity to accommodate institutional-scale volumes.

While the source does not provide asset-specific market data, the timetable and structure—firm deadlines over the next 12 months, nine action groups delivering use cases, and live repo testing by spring 2027—offer a sequence of milestones investors can monitor. The feedback window that runs until September 4, 2026 sets a clear checkpoint before the project moves into practical implementation.

What’s Next

Over the next year, the working group will prioritize fixed-income tokenization, including the launch of DIGIT sovereign digital bonds and the digital transition of collateral markets. Nine action groups will be responsible for delivering end-to-end use cases, with full live testing of tokenized repo transactions targeted by spring 2027. Feedback from financial-sector participants is open until September 4, 2026. Following that, the program is slated to proceed directly into practical implementation, a shift the source describes as reshaping the landscape of British capital.