Nineteen companies apply to join UK Digital Securities Sandbox

The UK government has received 19 letters of intent from existing financial market infrastructure, banks, and new entrants hoping to participate in the first test of its digital securities sandbox. DSS will enable companies to use distributed ledger technology to simulate the operation of central securities depositories and trading venues to accommodate digital assets. The sandbox is seen as a way to test technology by temporarily modifying existing legislation and has the power to change the legislative framework as testing progresses.

The UK Treasury said that after analyzing the responses, the government intends to largely retain the approach outlined in the consultation. This will involve establishing a broad framework for DSS in legislation and giving regulators appropriate flexibility to manage the requirements of participating entities. The government intends to include all relevant assets (excluding derivatives) within the current regulatory scope in DSS.