- The UK government has appointed six major banks, including Barclays, HSBC, and Morgan Stanley, as joint lead managers for the Digital Gilt Instrument (DIGIT) pilot
- The digitally native bond will test distributed ledger technology and onchain settlement within the UK’s Digital Securities Sandbox, with issuance expected by Q1 2027
- Economic Secretary Lucy Rigby announced the appointments during a keynote at UK Digital Assets Week, calling DIGIT a practical test of new financial market infrastructure
The UK government has appointed Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds, Morgan Stanley, NatWest and RBC Capital Markets as joint lead managers for the Digital Gilt Instrument (DIGIT), its first digitally native government bond pilot. Economic Secretary to the Treasury Lucy Rigby announced the selections during a keynote at UK Digital Assets Week, according to the official announcement.
The pilot, expected by the first quarter of 2027, will issue DIGIT on a platform operating within the UK’s Digital Securities Sandbox. Consequently, the bond will test distributed ledger technology across its entire lifecycle, including onchain settlement.
“This is a practical test of new financial market infrastructure,” Rigby said in a social media post, calling the appointments an important step toward issuing the digital gilt early next year. The project follows HSBC’s appointment in February as the pilot’s DLT supplier and a July agreement between HSBC and the London Stock Exchange Group to develop a digital securities depository link.
Richard Baker, CEO of Tokenovate and a member of HM Treasury’s Wholesale Digital Markets Industry Taskforce, said the pilot must address connectivity between digital securities and existing infrastructure. “On-chain settlement will need to connect with cash, custody and existing settlement infrastructure, with common standards and legal certainty keeping lifecycle events consistent across systems,” Baker said.
Marius Jurgilas, CEO of Axiology and a former central banker, added that DIGIT’s impact could extend beyond government borrowing. “Connecting issuance, distribution, trading and settlement through regulated infrastructure could broaden their investor base and create more funding options,” Jurgilas said, noting that government support could help establish foundations for more efficient capital movement across countries.
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