The UK government has named six banks to lead its first digitally native government bond, with the pilot issuance expected by the first quarter of 2027. The Digital Gilt Instrument (DIGIT) will test distributed ledger technology and onchain settlement for UK sovereign debt.
The UK government has appointed six banks to lead the issuance of its first digitally native government bond, with the pilot expected by the first quarter of 2027. Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds, Morgan Stanley, NatWest and RBC Capital Markets will act as joint lead managers for the Digital Gilt Instrument, known as DIGIT.
Six banks named after competitive process
The banks were selected following a competitive procurement process to provide underwriting, investor engagement and distribution services for the pilot issuance. Economic Secretary to the Treasury Lucy Rigby announced the appointments Tuesday during a keynote at UK Digital Assets Week.
DIGIT will be issued on a platform operating within the UK's Digital Securities Sandbox. The pilot will test the use of distributed ledger technology across the bond's issuance and lifecycle, including onchain settlement, as the government looks to explore the use of DLT in sovereign debt markets while encouraging the development of digital financial infrastructure in the UK.
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. In an X post Tuesday, Rigby said the appointments mark an important step toward issuing the digital gilt early next year, calling DIGIT "a practical test of new financial market infrastructure."
Infrastructure links will shape the pilot
Richard Baker, CEO of Tokenovate and a member of HM Treasury's Wholesale Digital Markets Industry Taskforce, said the pilot will need to address how digital securities connect with existing financial infrastructure. Onchain settlement, he said, will need to link with cash, custody and existing settlement systems, with common standards and legal certainty keeping lifecycle events consistent across platforms. Baker added that building that connectivity from the outset could help show whether tokenization can improve liquidity and market efficiency without creating new digital silos.
Marius Jurgilas, CEO of Axiology and a former central banker, said DIGIT's potential impact could extend beyond government borrowing. Connecting issuance, distribution, trading and settlement through regulated infrastructure could broaden the investor base and create more funding options, he said, with government support helping establish the foundations for a market where capital moves more easily between countries and reaches a wider range of issuers.
Source: GOV.UK
Trading involves risk.
Risk Disclaimer
