Bank of England Tests Blockchain-Based Settlement
Summary: Bank of England pilots blockchain settlement with Chainlink and 17 partners.
The Bank of England is testing a new settlement model that links central bank money with blockchain-based assets, with participation from Chainlink.
The Bank has invited Chainlink to join its research initiative, the Synchronisation Lab. The experiment aims to explore how blockchain-based assets can be settled alongside traditional central bank money.
A total of 18 institutions are involved in the project. Their task is to test coordination mechanisms between sterling funds held at the central bank and securities recorded on distributed ledgers. The lab is scheduled to launch in spring 2026 and run for approximately six months.
Chainlink’s role is to develop a decentralized settlement mechanism that connects central bank money with digitally issued securities. A similar scope of work is being carried out by UAC Labs AG. Other participants, including Swift, LSEG, and Partior, are exploring additional use cases such as foreign exchange transactions, tokenized bonds, and collateral management.
The Synchronisation Lab forms part of the Bank of England’s broader efforts to modernize its RTGS settlement system, known as RT2. Participants will use a simulated version of the new infrastructure through dedicated interfaces to demonstrate how their solutions could integrate with payment providers and asset registries.
The Bank of England has emphasized that no real funds will be used during the experiment and that participation does not imply regulatory approval. The results are intended to support the design of a future production-grade synchronization system. The project coincides with ongoing UK consultations on systemically important stablecoins.
