UK Plans Near-24/7 Settlement for Tokenization Era

The most obvious beneficiaries are platforms issuing tokenized UK government bonds or money market funds on-chain. Any asset settled against sterling will see reduced timing risk. For Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) – the core settlement assets in crypto markets – the UK reform matters less directly. Bitcoin and Ethereum settle on their own networks, unaffected by RTGS hours. Yet institutional flows that bridge crypto with fiat rails often face delays during UK bank holidays. A near-24/7 settlement system would smooth those gateway operations, particularly for firms that manage sterling-denominated stablecoin redemptions.

A second group of beneficiaries are custodians and prime brokers that intermediate between digital asset exchanges and traditional clearing houses. Shorter settlement windows reduce the amount of cash they must pre-fund, lowering capital charges. For crypto market analysis, the proposal signals that UK regulators intend to remove infrastructure barriers to institutional on-chain volume.

Timeline and Implementation Risk

No timeline has been set. Near-24/7 RTGS is a multi-year technical rebuild. The current consultation, running until mid-2025, covers high-level design choices: whether to use a new platform or extend the existing one, how to manage liquidity across time zones, and how to align with TARGET services in Europe. Tokenization pilots continue. The Bank for International Settlements and the Bank of England have tested wholesale central bank digital currency for tokenized bonds.

The UK proposal signals that policymakers do not want regulatory constraints to block commercial tokenization innovation. Yet the gap between proposal and reality is wide. The FCA’s tokenization guidance, expected in 2026, will set the compliance baseline for custody and client money handling.

The Next Decision Point

Firms trading tokenized sterling-denominated assets should submit feedback by the consultation deadline. The key metric is whether the UK proposal accelerates institutional on-chain volume or remains a long-term blueprint. Watch the next RTGS design paper for cost estimates and a go-live year. If the UK moves to near-24/7 settlement ahead of the EU or the US, London could regain ground as a venue for tokenized fixed income – a prize that has so far drifted to Switzerland and Singapore.