Settlement in central bank money targeted for 2028, Mills says
Digital asset platforms will be able to settle in central bank money by 2028 under a new synchronisation capability, Bank of England Executive Director Sasha Mills said on October 1, 2026. UK authorities also plan to publish a comprehensive wholesale tokenisation roadmap later this year.
Testing gilts and stablecoins at scale
The Digital Securities Sandbox (DSS), operated with the Financial Conduct Authority, allows firms to combine trading and settlement within single entities using distributed ledger technology.
Trading limits are set between £8 billion and £13.1 billion for gilts, and £17 billion to £28 billion for corporate bonds.
The Bank of England has expanded permissible settlement assets in the sandbox to include stablecoins.
A digital government bond, known as the Digital Gilt Instrument or DIGIT, will test cross-market issuance and custody.
Under Project Meridian, the Synchronisation Lab is currently testing infrastructure ahead of the scheduled 2028 live deployment.
The architecture of permanence
The Bank applies the regulatory principle of “same risk, same regulatory outcome” to digital assets, maintaining equivalent safeguards regardless of technological architecture.
UK authorities plan to extend statutory innovation objectives to payment systems and publish a joint tokenisation roadmap following the May consultation.
Mills emphasized that commercial viability, clear legal ownership and settlement finality must accompany technical feasibility before experimental setups transition to permanent market infrastructure.
Plumbing over promises
The Bank rightly shifts focus from distributed ledger novelty to legal enforceability and cash finality.
Yet generous sandbox limits cannot disguise private institutions' hesitation to commit substantial capital.
Without commercial volume, the 2028 central bank rails risk becoming expensive infrastructure without users.