(12 February 2026 – United Kingdom) Britain could become the first G7 nation to issue a sovereign bond on-chain after the United Kingdom (UK) Treasury appointed HSBC and Ashurst to oversee a digital gilt pilot in 2026.
Britain will issue a government bond as a digital token on a blockchain or another distributed ledger for the pilot amid criticism that the UK has dragged its heels on issuing a digital gilt after Chancellor Rachel Reeves originally announced the plan for a digital gilt pilot in her Mansion House speech in November 2024.
Frustration has grown as a result of the Treasury’s lack of progress. The UK has fallen behind other countries that have successfully facilitated digital sovereign bond issues, including Hong Kong and Luxembourg.
HSBC has overseen over US$3.5bn of digital bonds issued on its Orion blockchain system for a range of clients, including countries, central banks, financial institutions and companies. In 2025 the group enabled a US$1.3bn green bond issue by the Hong Kong government in one of the world’s biggest digital bond sales.
“Digital gilts will be attractive for investors by allowing instant settlement. But they require legislation and clarification of their tax treatment before they become a full feature of UK debt markets. We’ve been following the digital gilt project very closely since 2023. It’s certainly been a long time coming and we are very keen that it moves ahead and moves into a longer programme to become the way the government issues its debt” stated Investment Association Head of Innovation, John Allan.