Taking a significant step to support the digital asset sector, the UK government announced a new initiative, the Digital Securities Sandbox (DSS), as part of its mini-budget announcement on Wednesday.
The legislation aims to facilitate the growth and adoption of digital assets in financial markets.
In his Autumn Statement, UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt outlined 110 measures aimed at growing the country's economy. An important component of these measures was the government's attempt to expand the digital assets sector.
The UK government plans to publish its response to a consultation on DSS launched in July. “The Government will prepare a legal instrument to implement the Digital Securities Sandbox, delivering on the Edinburgh Reform announcement to implement a Financial Market Infrastructure Sandbox in 2023,” the budget statement said.
According to Zodia Markets General Counsel Dina White, DSS, which is expected to be implemented in the first quarter of 2024, is a critical step in the evolution of the securities industry.
“We are seeing continued advancement of digitalization across many financial instruments, and this represents a critical step in the adoption of new technologies as they are applied to traditional financial assets,” White said.
The newly established Digital Securities Sandbox will be different from the already operating Digital Sandbox launched by the UK Financial Conduct Authority this August.
FCA's Digital Sandbox aims to support companies in the early stages of digital product development. However, DSS will have “a new set of methods that will allow it to do new things with digital securities”, according to a speech by FCA Head of Capital Markets Helen Boyd at the CCData Digital Assets Summit in October.
*This is not investment advice.