Tokenized gold: The UK is preparing its regulatory framework

The UK's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is actively developing a regulatory framework to integrate tokenized gold as collateral within wholesale financial markets. By engaging with banks and industry participants, the FCA aims to modernize the settlement of collateral, which currently suffers from logistical frictions associated with physical gold. London, as the world's largest over-the-counter gold trading center handling 70% of global notional volume, serves as the critical testing ground for this structural upgrade. Tokenization enables near-instantaneous transfers and 24/7 operations, allowing institutions to manage liquidity and margin calls more efficiently during market volatility. This initiative is part of a broader UK strategy that projects tokenization could contribute £33 billion to the national economy by 2035. The roadmap also includes plans for the UK's first tokenized government bond by 2027, signaling a shift toward blockchain-based financial infrastructure. This regulatory progress mirrors the European Union's MiCA framework, which already mandates strict reserve and audit requirements for asset-linked tokens. Ultimately, these developments provide the legal clarity necessary for large-scale institutional adoption of real-world assets.