UK regulator clears path for tokenized funds within existing rules

The FCA signs off rules to let UK funds keep registers onchain and add a new Direct‑to‑Fund dealing model, aiming to simplify tokenized funds inside the existing regime.

The United Kingdom’s financial regulator has signed off on new rules and guidance for tokenized funds, aiming to make it easier for asset managers to use blockchains within the existing fund regime rather than in separate experimental structures.

In a Thursday policy statement, PS26/7, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said tokenization and distributed ledger technology (DLT) could make fund management more efficient and that it wants to “support innovation in the UK asset management sector,” as part of a digital assets roadmap first outlined in a January 2025 letter to the prime minister.

The changes give firms a clearer path to integrate blockchain into regulated fund operations, as policymakers seek to modernize market infrastructure without altering existing investor protection frameworks, and reflect a broader push to bring tokenized finance into the regulatory perimeter rather than allowing it to develop in parallel systems.

Read more