UK Treasury Announces Pilot Program for Digital Gilt Using Distributed Ledger Technology

The U.K. government is gearing up to launch a pilot program for a digital gilt instrument. Think of it like a bond, but it uses distributed ledger technology, or DLT. This was announced by the Treasury.

During her first Mansion House speech, Finance Minister Rachel Reeves will introduce this digital gilt pilot. She’ll also discuss a "Financial Services Growth and Competitiveness Strategy." This includes plans to regulate Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) ratings providers and oversight for pension mega funds. Just so you know, gilts are government bonds issued by the U.K.

The Mansion House Speech is an annual event where the finance minister shares long-term visions. Since Labour took over in July, there hasn’t been much talk about their plans for crypto. The Treasury's announcement suggests that this speech aims to reassure companies that the government supports innovation.

"The government will launch a pilot to deliver a Digital Gilt Instrument, using distributed ledger technology (DLT), demonstrating our commitment to innovation in the financial services sector," the Treasury stated. DLT is the tech behind crypto assets, allowing data to be updated by each node in the network.

Tulip Siddiq, the economic secretary at the Treasury, mentioned that the party will soon share its plans for the crypto sector. According to Bloomberg, Labour is likely to follow the previous Conservative government’s lead by introducing legislation on stablecoins and staking, as reported by unnamed sources.