UK Treasury selects HSBC blockchain for digital gilts pilot

UK Treasury selects HSBC’s Orion blockchain to pilot digital gilts, aiming to modernize debt markets, cut costs, and speed up settlements in a regulated sandbox.

The UK Treasury has chosen HSBC’s blockchain platform, Orion, to lead a pilot program for issuing digital gilts. This marks a major step in modernizing the country’s financial infrastructure. The pilot will issue blockchain-based sovereign debt instruments, known as digital gilts (DIGIT), within a regulated sandbox overseen by the Financial Conduct Authority. The initiative aims to streamline gilt trading, reduce operational costs, and accelerate settlement times. It addresses criticism over delays in adopting digital sovereign bonds. HSBC’s Orion platform has already facilitated over $3.5 billion in digital bond issuances globally, including in Europe and Hong Kong. The UK government is increasingly supporting financial innovation, especially in digital assets and tokenization, with plans to issue digital gilts within two years. However, the UK still lags behind regions like Hong Kong and Luxembourg, which have already completed digital sovereign bond issuances.