Ripple selected for UK Treasury backed plan to put repurchase and capital chain within 12 months

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Report backed by the UK Treasury puts Ripple at the heart of wholesale financial market chain-linking strategy

A new report backed by the UK Treasury places blockchain payment solution provider Ripple at the heart of the UK's strategy to promote the chain-linking of wholesale financial markets. The ambitious plan aims to migrate tokenized repurchase agreements, fixed income products and funds from experimental sandboxes to a real-world trading environment over the next 12 months.

Hybrid blockchain models and settlement risks

Chris Woolard, an advocate of wholesale digital markets in the UK, outlined the hybrid path adopted by blockchain in a report. The proposed model builds permission-based institutional networks on top of permission-free public blockchains, aiming to take advantage of the liquidity advantages of open networks while maintaining stricter compliance controls for institutional participants. The report points out that although public blockchains can achieve wider access and shared liquidity, there are also risks related to the finality of transactions. Specifically, unforeseen chain restructurings can reverse confirmed transactions, creating settlement uncertainties that are not normally present in traditional market infrastructure. The report cites BlackRock's BUIDL money market fund issued on Ethereum (provided by Securitize) as an example of the integration of traditional finance and blockchain technology.

Mini Dictionary: Tokenized repo agreement-a digital version of a repo agreement that uses blockchain for transactions and settlements, aiming to increase the speed of money market settlement and reduce operational risks.

Ripple's growing role in UK financial innovation

Ripple has become an important member of the working group driving this transformation. The company, which focuses on blockchain cross-border payment technology, was described in the report as a licensed participant driving the process rather than a disruptive upstart. Its $1.25 billion acquisition of Hidden Road (now renamed Ripple Prime) reflects efforts to connect traditional financial services with digital assets. Hidden Road holds both an investment company license and a crypto-asset registration with the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), supporting a wide range of spot and derivatives trading activities in the foreign exchange and digital asset markets. Bank of Santander UK uses Ripple blockchain technology for international payments, which is cited as another example of mature banks adopting blockchain. Santander is a customer-facing institution, while Ripple's technology supports the flow of funds. Ripple's participation in institutional-level licenses and real-world use cases, including its prime broker and cross-border payment solutions, demonstrates the convergence trend in traditional finance and digital asset spaces.

Regulatory developments and global comparison

The report predicts that upgrading UK market infrastructure will increase UK annual economic output by 33 billion pounds (approximately US$44 billion) and increase annual tax revenue by 14 billion pounds over the next decade, highlighting the economic potential of blockchain. Woolard pointed out that both the United States and the United Kingdom have set the goal of comprehensive stablecoin regulation by 2027. However, the UK has taken the lead in wholesale, while progress has slowed in the United States due to legislative delays such as the Clarity Act still stalled. Currently, the FCA regulates crypto companies based on anti-money laundering requirements. When new regulations under the Financial Services and Markets Act (FSMA) take effect, broader regulation will be launched. The registration application window under the FSMA will open on September 30, and the new regulations will take effect in October 2027. Despite the introduction of new regulations, the report points out that the authorization process of British crypto companies is still slower than that of the United States. In contrast, in December 2025, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) granted a three-year pilot to conduct real-time tokenization projects directly rather than running them in a test environment. The report emphasizes that as traditional financial institutions integrate with crypto-native companies, a sound licensing system and pragmatic supervision are crucial to maintaining the UK's competitive advantage in the digital market.

Future Trends and Industry Engagement

Other industry developments during the same period include BlackRock, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase and Morgan Stanley participating in the UK government tokenization working group, further demonstrating the institution's strong interest in transforming the market into blockchain infrastructure. Cryptocurrency exchanges also reported a rebound in activity. Centralized Exchange (CEX) trading volume rose for the first time in June in five months, with spot trading volume rising 15.3% to US$1.11 trillion, and real-world asset perpetual contract trading volume reaching a record of US$311 billion. At the same time, continued geopolitical risks continue to affect market dynamics, with renewed hostilities between the United States and Iran weighing on Bitcoin's performance, despite ETF inflows reflecting strong demand.