This blog post is a collaboration between Rhiannon Butterfield, Jago Corry, Duncan McEwen, Marius Bischoff at UK Finance.

The day’s sessions covered themes from political economy, how stablecoins are moving ‘from forming, to norming’, wider societal implications of these changes, spotlights on UK Finance’s tokenised sterling deposits project (GBTD), to commercial bank money’s strategic role in on-chain finance. 

The opening keynote from author, comedian, and financial commentator, Dominic Frisby, explored a number of fascinating themes. Highlighting the era of ‘bifurcation’ we have entered into and that is seen at a geo-political level (between East versus West), combined with the importance of established asset classes (e.g. gold) now being reintegrated into the global monetary system once more, e.g. recent activity from the People’s Bank of China (PBoC). He also distinguished between the notion of ‘strong’ and ‘weak’ currencies, and the preference of certain asset types based on their relative outperformance (in real terms) compared to other well performing asset classes. This led neatly into whether that same bifurcation is being seen at the ‘micro level’ and in digital money, by separating between abstractions of fiat (e.g. stablecoins) versus the fundamental role that gold, and other ‘hard assets’ could play in a digital world. 

Impacts of digital money on political economy 

The first panel discussed the political economy implications of new digital assets and money. Panelists discussed the current US administration’s digital assets strategy, particularly in relation to how policymakers are looking to grow the demand of US government treasuries via enabling the adoption and use of USD backed stablecoins. The session covered questions on how money-like digital assets, particularly stablecoins, are converging traditional and decentralised financial systems, including the future of placing traditional finance assets on-chain. The session also discussed the strategic decisions jurisdictions will need to take in relation to prioritising the development of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), tokenised deposits, or stablecoins in this new ‘multi-money verse’. Policymakers and firms are facing tough questions, such as how much risk authorities are willing to take, including whether credit disintermediation and the rise of shadow banking can be mitigated and controlled. 

Stablecoins: moving from ‘forming’ to ‘norming’ 

As both the UK and US are finalising their domestic regulatory frameworks for stablecoins, the second session panelists turned their attention towards what comes next for these money-like assets. This includes global alignment of robust risk/outcomes-based regulatory frameworks, infrastructure connectivity and cross-ecosystem roles, and protections and dispute resolution mechanisms for retail consumers. These are all required to enable this new money-like system to be used in a multitude of retail and wholesale solutions, from cross-border business-to-business payments to corporate treasury management.  

Wider societal implications of digital assets and money  

Continuing the theme of forming to norming, the third panel focused on how consumers will use and interact with new forms of digital assets and money in their day-to-day lives. Panelists discussed how the public and private sectors can work together to support merchants and consumers to learn about and use these new digital instruments. The Robinhood business model gave a really interesting case study in how you galvanise and educate a user base, built around establishing an active and collaborative investment community, who are also looking to diversify beyond crypto and into more mainstream financial products and services. The session’s key takeaway was the role digital assets will play in supporting the UK move from being a ‘nation of savers’ to a ‘nation of investors’, or – how both firms and policymakers can help make digital assets, particularly cryptoassets, safer, easier and more accessible to invest in. Whether that's making crypto Exchange Traded Notes (cETNs) more resilient to volatility pressures as well as encouraging diversification into other financial products (e.g. Junior ISAs). As well as offering a convenient mechanism to transfer ‘digital wealth’ more seamlessly and crucially, inter-generationally. Finally, helping token holders pass on their assets to family, friends and loved ones when they pass away is a key part of the current debate that is missing and should be considered in much greater detail. 

Tokenised deposits and the strategic role of commercial bank money 

The last two panels focused on the vital role of commercial bank money in the digital space, and UK Finance’s tokenised sterling deposits (GBTD) project. This included discussions around key uses cases that will bring real benefits for consumers and the economy, from developing a safer peer-to-peer online marketplace system to help tackle fraud, to simplifying the transfer of funds in the remortgage journey. Taking a step back, the final panel discussed how commercial bank money continues to be the core driver of all economic activity in the UK, from supporting businesses get the capital they need to create jobs and new innovative products to steer growth, to helping families get the support they need to purchase their first home. In order to ensure the stability and resilience of the fiat system, the session also touched on how tokenised deposits and stablecoins can be complementary options rather than competitors. 

Summary and next steps 

This half-day event showcased a new digital assets and money space that is maturing rapidly, moving beyond the ‘peer to peer’ system envisioned in the original bitcoin white paper, to a multi-faceted on-chain-to-fiat system that has the potential to innovate the existing intermediary monetary system that all economies rely on. As regulatory frameworks are concluded and institutional adoption continues to scale, UK Finance looks forward to continuing its work with members and stakeholders to ensure the UK is positioned as a global leader in digital financial markets, where competitiveness gaps are addressed, while ensuring robustness and resilience without unduly stifling risk appetite or growth. 

A big thank you to our speakers who brought insightful contributions and a rounded debate to the day’s discussions. We look forward to seeing you again in 2026! 

If you are a member of UK Finance and would like to be involved in our work in this space, get in touch here. To see the photos of the day, see our LinkedIn post here.