The UK Treasury has selected HSBC as the platform provider for its pioneering Digital Gilt Instrument (DIGIT) pilot, marking a decisive step in the nation’s quest to modernize its sovereign debt markets according to Bloomberg reports.
Announced on Thursday, February 12, 2026, the collaboration will leverage the bank’s Orion blockchain platform to issue, distribute, and settle “digitally native” government bonds within a regulated testing environment. The pilot aims to demonstrate how distributed-ledger technology (DLT) can deliver near real-time settlement, significantly reducing the administrative friction and costs inherent in traditional gilt trading.
🇬🇧 NEW: 2026 is marking the year of “Operationalizing Digital Debt” as the UK Treasury and HSBC move to tokenize Great Britain’s sovereign bonds.
Aims to test on-chain settlement and over-the-counter trading capabilities. pic.twitter.com/QReRyBCLss
— Nathan Jeffay (@NathanOnCrypto) February 12, 2026
Orion platform to facilitate digital debt issuance
Under the mandate, HSBC Orion will serve as the core technological infrastructure for the DIGIT pilot. The platform has already facilitated over $3.5 billion in digital bond issuances globally, including the European Investment Bank’s first digital sterling bond and the world’s largest digital green bond for the Hong Kong government. The Treasury’s selection follows a competitive procurement process launched in late 2025, intended to position Britain as a leader among G7 nations in the tokenised securities space.
Driving efficiency in the UK capital markets
Blockchain-based bonds allow for on-chain settlement, which can compress transaction timelines from several days to nearly instantaneous execution. By tokenising these assets, the Treasury hopes to foster greater transparency, simplify how bonds move between participants, and attract a wider range of investors. Experts suggest that the move signals a broader shift toward a “digital-first” financial infrastructure in Britain, following Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ 2024 commitment to integrate DLT into the gilt market.
Meanwhile, Trading 212, a major European investment platform, reportedly let UK retail investors trade cryptocurrency-linked exchange-traded notes (ETNs) without the required regulatory permission, as per DeFi Planet. Crypto ETNs became available again to UK retail investors in October 2025 after the FCA lifted a 2021 ban. Since these products, which track digital assets like Bitcoin, are legally structured as debentures, firms must have specific authorization to offer them to everyday investors.
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