AFME is highly supportive of the UK pursuing an ambitious vision and strategy towards broader DLT adoption in financial services.
The UK has already made important high-level commitments to distributed ledger technology (DLT) adoption, including as part of the Financial Services Growth Competitiveness Strategy and as part of the Wholesale Financial Markets Digital Strategy. Some of the individual steps already taken or proposed by the UK have the potential to greatly support DLT adoption. For example:
- The establishment of the Digital Securities Sandbox (DSS) in 2024 offers greater opportunity for both new and established UK-based market participants to experiment with the use of DLT in financial services
- Sovereign debt issuance programme through the DIGIT Pilot
- Plans for more international cooperation, including through the US-UK Taskforce for Markets of the Future
- Near-finalisation of the synchronisation of the real-time gross settlement system (RTGS) with DLT platforms, allowing for end-to-end delivery of securities against cash on-chain
However, international regulatory dynamics and private sector innovation are rapidly evolving. As a result, the UK is at risk of falling behind other international financial centres. The UK therefore needs a Vision and Strategy which go further and faster, and which are implemented at pace. This will ensure that the UK can continue to play a leading role in DLT adoption.
