HSBC Selected by Britain for Blockchain-Based Government Bond Trial
Britain has selected HSBC Orion as the platform provider for its DIGIT initiative, which will test blockchain technology for government bonds with goals of enhanced efficiency, reduced expenses and improved security.
Britain's government has selected the tokenization platform operated by HSBC to facilitate a trial issuance of digitized government bonds, commonly referred to as "gilts," representing the most recent milestone in the nation's initiative to transform sovereign debt markets through the implementation of blockchain technology.
HSBC Orion has been selected by His Majesty's Treasury to enable the Digital Gilt Instrument (DIGIT) trial issuance, based on an announcement made Thursday.
In July 2025, the Treasury released a DIGIT pilot update document, detailing its intentions to investigate blockchain technology applications in the issuance of UK sovereign debt and to facilitate the growth of national tokenization infrastructure.
"We want to attract investment and make the UK the best place to do business," said Lucy Rigby, UK economic secretary to the Treasury, commenting on HSBC Orion's DIGIT appointment. She added that the pilot will help the UK explore how to capitalize on the distributed ledger technology (DLT), enhance efficiency and reduce costs for businesses.
Key objectives and features of the DIGIT pilot
The DIGIT trial initiative seeks to facilitate digitally native, short-term government bonds that will function within the Digital Securities Sandbox (DSS).
The initiative has been structured to facilitate secondary market growth and enhanced accessibility through onchain settlement functionality, while maintaining operational independence from the UK government's primary debt management operations.
"This is exactly the kind of financial innovation we need to keep the UK at the forefront of global capital markets and I'm looking forward to working with HSBC and other parties to deliver DIGIT," Rigby said.
HSBC has issued $3.5 billion in digital bonds globally
From its inception in 2023, HSBC Orion has facilitated the issuance of no less than $3.5 billion in digitally native bonds on a global scale, which includes the European Investment Bank's inaugural digital sterling bond and a multi-currency $1.3 billion-equivalent bond that was issued by the Hong Kong government.
"The UK is a home market for us and the sixth largest economy in the world," said Patrick George, HSBC's global head of markets and securities services. "HSBC is delighted to be supporting the continued development of the gilt market, market innovation, and the growth of the broader UK economy," he added.
In conjunction with selecting HSBC Orion as the platform provider for DIGIT, the UK government has also selected international law firm Ashurst to deliver legal services for the trial program.
"Our team brings deep expertise in digital assets transactions, and we look forward to working with HSBC and supporting the government as it takes this transformative step for UK capital markets," Ashurst's head of digital assets, Etay Katz, said.