The UK government has taken a decisive step toward modernizing the national financial system by appointing Chris Woolard to a new role - “Champion for Wholesale Digital Markets.” The appointment is aimed at accelerating the shift from traditional finance to tokenized assets and strengthening London’s position as a global hub for digital innovation.
Woolard’s primary task will be to promote the creation of a wholesale financial market system based on tokenization principles. This involves converting traditional assets (such as shares, bonds, and deposits) into digital form using distributed ledger technology. The move is expected to increase settlement speed, transparency, and the overall competitiveness of the UK capital market.
Woolard, known for his work at the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and now a partner at EY, has already commented on his appointment:
“We need a new partnership between the public and private sectors. This is a chance to deliver the next ‘digital big bang’ for the UK’s markets,” he said, drawing a historical parallel with the deregulation of markets in 1986.
Unified rules for money and stablecoins
Woolard’s appointment is just one part of a broader package of reforms initiated by HM Treasury. A key element of the reform is the integration of electronic money into the financial services regulatory framework. This would create a unified legal regime for both traditional fiat payments and tokenized settlements, including the use of stablecoins.
Authorities are also exploring the possibility of introducing rules for a new phenomenon - payments made by artificial intelligence (AI) agents - to prepare the infrastructure for future challenges.
Response from authorities and business
Economic Secretary to the Treasury Lucy Rigby said the government is committed to creating a secure and dynamic payments ecosystem:
“Technological change is happening rapidly. Our task is to create an environment that can harness these changes for economic growth while remaining reliable for users,” Rigby noted.
Representatives of the financial industry have already welcomed the reforms. In the coming weeks, the government will launch a series of consultations on the details of the proposals to take market opinion into account before finalizing the legislation.
The reforms mark an attempt by Britain not just to catch up, but to lead the global race in digital finance.