UK Treasury Report Names Ripple for Wholesale Tokenization Push
In brief
- Ripple named in UK Treasury report as key firm for tokenizing wholesale markets within 12 months
- Report projects £33 billion annual economic output boost and £14 billion tax revenue gain within a decade
- Hybrid model combines permissionless networks with permissioned institutional layers, citing BlackRock's BUIDL
- UK ahead of US on wholesale tokenization policy; stablecoin regimes both targeting 2027 launch
The convergence model
Woolard's team proposed a hybrid model combining permissionless networks providing common liquidity with permissioned institutional networks built on top. The report cited BlackRock's tokenized money market fund BUIDL, issued on Ethereum with a Securitize compliance wrapper, as an example of this structure in practice. The framing signals acceptance of crypto-native infrastructure, not rejection of it—a pivot from earlier regulatory skepticism.
Ripple's role in the plan reflects two concrete achievements. The firm purchased Hidden Road, a prime broker, for $1.25 billion, which now operates as Ripple Prime with FCA authorization for investment-firm and cryptoasset activities. Additionally, Santander U.K. uses Ripple's blockchain for cross-border payments in a white-label arrangement where the bank maintains the customer relationship. These aren't theoretical pilots—they're live deployments in regulated environments.
The report does acknowledge technical risks. It identified a settlement-finality risk on permissionless chains where confirmed transactions can theoretically be reversed by chain reorganization. Yet rather than ruling out permissionless networks, the hybrid model compartmentalizes this risk: institutional settlement layers can enforce finality while tapping shared liquidity pools below.
Economic upside and regulatory timeline
The report projects productivity gains and cost efficiencies could boost annual economic output by 33 billion pounds ($44 billion) and increase tax revenue by 14 billion pounds annually within a decade. These figures carry weight in Treasury planning—they justify the policy lift required to move fast.
On stablecoin regulation, Woolard puts the U.S. and U.K. on similar timelines, with both targeting full regimes in 2027. But on wholesale tokenization, the U.K. is ahead, where the U.S. Clarity Act remains stuck. The FCA's new regime under the Financial Services and Markets Act kicks in next year, with applications opening on September 30 ahead of an October 2027 launch date.
One caveat: the industry still sees U.K. authorization as slower than the U.S., where the SEC's December 2025 no-action letter gave the Depository Trust Company a three-year tokenization pilot. Speed matters in this space. The report signals intent, but execution risk remains real.
