The Bank of England wants to keep the settlement system running around the clock — and in doing so, it’s quietly laying the groundwork for tokenized assets to plug into the core of UK financial infrastructure.
On May 18, the BoE formally opened a consultation on extending the operating hours of its Real-Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) system, the backbone of the UK’s payment rails, with a stated goal of moving toward near-24/7 availability in the years ahead. What’s notable isn’t just the ambition. It’s the reasoning.
The Settlement Clock Problem
Today, the UK’s core settlement infrastructure runs on business hours. When payments or asset transfers fall outside those windows — evenings, weekends, public holidays — they queue up and wait. That works well enough for the traditional banking world, which runs on the same schedule. It doesn’t work for tokenized assets, which settle in real time on blockchains that never close.
This mismatch is one of the least-discussed structural barriers to institutional adoption of tokenized finance. Banks and asset managers may hold tokenized bonds, tokenized money market funds, or tokenized real-world assets — but if the underlying settlement infrastructure knocks off at 6pm, the always-on promise of blockchain-based assets breaks down at the very moment it matters.
The BoE’s consultation acknowledges this directly. In published materials accompanying the consultation, officials noted that extending settlement hours would reduce the friction between traditional payment systems and emerging digital asset networks. The FCA is coordinating with the Bank on the effort.
A Target Date for Tokenized Asset Integration
The Bank has set 2027 as a target year to begin connecting directly with tokenized asset networks — a firm timeline that puts institutional crypto infrastructure on the same planning horizon as central bank upgrades.
That’s a meaningful signal for anyone building in the real-world asset space. It suggests the BoE isn’t treating tokenization as a distant experiment. It’s treating it as infrastructure that needs to be accommodated in core planning.
The Cryptotimes reported last week that the Bank “plans to gradually extend settlement hours toward near-24/7 operations over the next several years,” with officials aiming to connect directly with tokenized asset networks by 2027 as part of broader infrastructure upgrades.
The Broader Picture: RWA Momentum
This doesn’t exist in isolation. Tokenized real-world assets have crossed $15 billion in total value locked, driven by products from BlackRock, JPMorgan, and Franklin Templeton. JPMorgan this month launched JLTXX, its second tokenized money market fund running directly on Ethereum.
The pattern emerging across G10 central banks is consistent: institutions are no longer debating whether tokenization happens. They’re debating how to ensure their own plumbing can handle it when it does.
The BoE’s settlement consultation is a direct response to that reality. Fixing the settlement clock isn’t about crypto ideology — it’s about infrastructure competitiveness. If UK rails can’t keep up with tokenized asset networks that operate 24/7, those networks will route around them.
Stablecoin Policy Running in Parallel
The consultation also arrives as the BoE and FCA have been softening their stance on stablecoin issuance caps. Earlier this month, reports indicated that planned limits on stablecoin holdings had been revised upward following industry feedback, a move seen as clearing space for pound-denominated stablecoins to develop.
Together — extended settlement hours, tokenized asset connectivity by 2027, and more relaxed stablecoin rules — the BoE is building out a coherent framework rather than a patchwork of ad hoc decisions. The design logic is visible: bring traditional settlement infrastructure up to speed, then connect it to digital asset networks operating on the same schedule.
For blockchain developers and institutional tokenization teams, that’s a rare signal of official alignment. Most central bank consultation documents are hedged to the point of incoherence. This one has a date.
FAQ
Q: What is the Bank of England’s RTGS system?
A: RTGS stands for Real-Time Gross Settlement. It’s the Bank of England’s core infrastructure for processing large-value payments between financial institutions in the UK. It currently operates during business hours on weekdays.
Q: How does 24/7 settlement connect to crypto or tokenized assets?
A: Blockchain-based assets settle around the clock, but if the underlying payment rails they connect to only operate during business hours, that creates a friction gap. Extending RTGS to near-24/7 removes that gap and allows tokenized assets to settle against traditional financial infrastructure without waiting for the next business day.
Q: When will the Bank of England connect to tokenized asset networks?
A: The Bank has indicated a target of 2027 to begin connecting directly with tokenized asset networks as part of its broader infrastructure upgrade program.
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Sources: CryptoSlate (May 23, 2026), CryptoTimes (May 20, 2026), Gadgets360 (May 19, 2026), CryptoAdventure (May 20, 2026), Bank of England consultation documentation.
