Bank of England tests chainlink settlement in new UK blockchain securities pilot

The Bank of England is launching a new phase of onchain securities experiments, and chainlink settlement is now at the center of its latest pilot.

Bank of England invites Chainlink into its Synchronisation Lab

On Feb. 10, 2026, the Bank of England confirmed that Chainlink, the decentralized oracle network, will join its experimental Synchronisation Lab. The program is designed to test how blockchain-based assets can settle in step with traditional central bank money across the UK financial system.

The Bank described the initiative as an exploratory program that will examine onchain securities settlement against central bank funds. Moreover, the Synchronisation Lab will connect innovative platforms with a simulated environment for the UK’s core payment infrastructure, enabling participants to trial advanced settlement workflows.

Scope and timing of the Synchronisation Lab rollout

The new lab will bring together 18 firms tasked with exploring coordination between sterling balances held at the central bank and securities recorded on distributed ledgers. According to the announcement, operations are scheduled to begin in spring 2026 and will run for roughly six months, with participants expected to deliver working demonstrations.

Within this timeframe, the project will test how onchain records can interact with central bank money while maintaining existing risk controls. However, the Bank of England has stressed that the initiative remains experimental, and that no production systems will be connected during the trial period.

Chainlink and UAC Labs AG to build decentralized settlement models

Chainlink will focus on designing a decentralized method for executing settlements that explicitly link central bank funds to digitally issued securities. In practice, that means developing workflows where tokenized assets and cash-like claims held at the central bank can move in synchronized fashion, reducing settlement risk and operational friction.

In the bank’s announcement, the oracle provider stated that this work aims to support synchronized settlement between central bank money and onchain securities. That said, Chainlink emphasized that this collaboration is a test environment, not a live deployment of production infrastructure in the UK market.

UAC Labs AG will join the project with a similar mandate focused on decentralized models. Meanwhile, other synchronisation lab participants will concentrate on a wider set of experiments across multiple market segments and asset classes.

Swift, LSEG and Partior explore broader tokenization use cases

Several major financial infrastructure providers are also involved in the lab. Swift, the global messaging network, LSEG, and Partior have been selected to test use cases that include foreign-exchange transactions, tokenized bonds and collateral, and broader collateral management workflows.

These trials will explore whether common messaging standards, interoperable platforms, and synchronized cash movements can support a new generation of tokenized instruments. Moreover, they will examine how different technology stacks can interface with the central bank’s evolving settlement architecture.

Modernizing the UK’s Real-Time Gross Settlement core

The Synchronisation Lab is one component of the Bank of England’s program to upgrade its core payments engine, formally known as Real-Time Gross Settlement (RT2). The evolving infrastructure underpins sterling payments across the country’s financial system, from high-value interbank transfers to key market utilities.

Participants in the lab will connect to a simulated version of the upgraded RT2 system through dedicated APIs and a test user interface. This setup will allow them to demonstrate how their platforms would coordinate with payment providers, asset registries, and other financial market infrastructures, without touching live balances.

Risk limits and regulatory status of the trial

The Bank of England has underlined that the Synchronisation Lab will not handle actual funds and does not imply regulatory approval for any participating firm. Instead, all activity will occur in a closed test environment that mirrors, but does not replicate, real-world settlement flows.

The bank has said that data from the program will inform design decisions for any future live synchronization capability. However, policymakers will still conduct separate assessments around risks, legal frameworks, and industry readiness before moving toward production services.

Chainlink settlement and the wider tokenization push

The decision to involve Chainlink in direct experiments with central bank money settlement reflects a broader push to bring tokenization into mainstream market infrastructures. In previous industry pilots, firms such as Swift and global banks have tested integration models that draw on Chainlink’s oracle technology for messaging and data verification.

In this context, the chainlink settlement work within the Synchronisation Lab will test whether decentralized services can support reliable coordination between traditional central bank accounts and emerging digital securities ledgers.

Stablecoin rules and UK digital asset regulation

The project coincides with a parallel systemic stablecoins consultation by UK regulators. That process focuses on proposed rules for digital tokens backed by government bonds or deposits held at central banks, reflecting concern about potential systemic payment and settlement risks.

Taken together, the Synchronisation Lab and stablecoin policy work suggest that UK authorities are preparing for multiple models of digital settlement. Moreover, they indicate that both public infrastructures and private-sector tokenization platforms will be expected to meet stringent resilience and oversight standards.

Outlook for onchain settlement in the UK

The Bank of England has framed this initiative as a research and development effort rather than a commitment to any particular technology or vendor. The presence of Chainlink, Swift, LSEG, Partior, and UAC Labs AG shows that authorities want to test a diverse range of approaches before shaping the next phase of RT2.

As the lab progresses through 2026, the results are expected to offer practical evidence on how onchain securities can interact with central bank money. In turn, these findings may help define how the UK’s financial system ultimately moves onchain, from wholesale securities settlement to new forms of digital cash-backed instruments.