The British government appointed Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds, Morgan Stanley, NatWest and RBC Capital Markets as the co lead of the first digital native treasury bond DIGIT, which is expected to be issued in the first quarter of 2027. Six banks provide underwriting, investor communication, and distribution services. DIGIT will test the application of distributed ledger technology in treasury bond issuance and the whole life cycle through the platform issuance in the UK digital securities sandbox. UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Lucy Rigby stated that the project explores the application of distributed ledger technology in the sovereign debt market and promotes the development of digital financial infrastructure in the UK. HSBC was appointed as the distributed ledger technology provider for the pilot in February and reached an agreement with the London Stock Exchange Group in July to develop a digital securities depositary institution connectivity solution.
