How Britain can lead the transition to truly digital markets - Lucy Rigby

When we take a step back, and we should take a step back, looking at the last couple of centuries, it’s fair to say that we are used to technological development giving us new products and new services.

But on occasion, technology changes something more fundamental: it changes the infrastructure on which an economy operates. The move from paper to electronic trading transformed our financial markets in the 1980s and 1990s. And I believe the shift from electronic markets to truly digital markets will prove just as significant.

This isn’t just about getting rid of paper or putting existing processes onto a slightly better computer system. It is asking whether the architecture of finance itself can be better.

Whether assets can move more efficiently. Whether transactions can settle faster. Whether collateral can work harder. Whether new forms of money can improve payments. And whether technology can open markets to greater competition and innovation.

That is why digitisation is not a niche technology agenda. It is an economic agenda. A competitiveness agenda. And, increasingly, a national endeavour. The Government can create the conditions. Regulators can provide clarity, confidence and appropriate safeguards. But it is firms, investors and entrepreneurs who will deploy capital, build products and compete in these markets of the future. That partnership is the basis on which the UK will succeed.

As we take this partnership forward, we also need to work closely with international partners to realise the benefits and avoid fragmented markets. I am keenly aware of this as we gear up for our Presidency of the G20 in 2027.

Of course, saying that we want to succeed is the easy bit. The substantive question is what we are actually doing about it. And that is where I think the UK story is at its most compelling.

Last year we published our Wholesale Financial Markets Digital Strategy, built around market optimisation, transformation and leadership.

We are removing legacy processes; creating the regulatory environment in which new infrastructure can develop; building a regulatory framework for crypto assets and stablecoins; we are putting our own sovereign issuance onto digital infrastructure. And critically industry is forging the path ahead. That is why I appointed Chris Woolard as our Wholesale Digital Markets Champion. His first report in July set out a clear challenge: that tokenized markets are fundamental to the future of financial services, and that the decisions we take now will help determine whether the UK remains at the heart of the next generation of global markets.

Since then, Chris has announced the composition of his industry action groups, bringing together firms from across the sector to tackle the practical barriers to adoption.

It is fantastic to see both the variety of firms and the seniority of the people involved.

The prize is significant. And this is a moment when the UK has an opportunity to move as one, be brave, and establish itself at the forefront of the next generation of global financial markets. We can see momentum building across the system.

An abridged version of a speech by Lucy Rigby, Economic Secretary to the Treasury, at UK Digital Assets Week.