British investment funds get go-ahead to launch blockchain-based tokenized assets

With the latest move, the U.K. hopes to bolster liquidity in its asset management market.

British investment managers have received an approval to develop tokenized funds with the help of blockchain technology as the country seeks to benefit from the global digitization trend.

As reported by Reuters, investment managers in the U.K. have been authorized by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the financial services regulator, to start offering tokenized funds, albeit for mainstream assets only.

Michelle Scrimgeour, who is the sitting chair of a working group tasked with aligning with the FCA on the matter, told the press that fund tokenization has “great potential to revolutionize how our industry operates, by enabling greater efficiency and liquidity, enhanced risk management and the creation of more bespoke portfolios.”

The move is expected to help the U.K. to improve its market liquidity as other players on the market have also started offering tokenized services already. In early Nov. 2023, British bank HSBC announced its latest blockchain endeavor in partnership with a Ripple-owned firm Metaco to service institutional clients with demand for real-world assets (RWA) hosted on a blockchain.

Deutsche Bank also disclosed plans for a tokenization service and custodial product for digital assets. The bank partnered with fintech company Taurus for this development at a time when RWAs on blockchain have experienced growth, climbing to nearly $1 billion in market cap per CoinGecko.