UK FCA final rules on progressing fund tokenisation

The FCA published has final policy statement PS26/7, setting out its final rules and guidance to support the adoption of tokenisation of authorised funds as part of its wider digital assets and growth agenda. Following feedback to the October 2025 consultation, the FCA finalised Handbook guidance confirming that authorised fund managers may use distributed ledger technology (DLT) to operate unitholder registers, with on-chain records capable of constituting the primary books and records of unit dealings. Firms are not required to maintain a full off‑chain duplicate of those records, provided they have appropriate resiliency arrangements in place. The guidance applies to the use of both private and public DLT networks. Additional guidance is also set out on rules on share classes, where units within a class are recorded on multiple blockchains.

In addition, the FCA introduces an optional direct‑to‑fund dealing model for authorised funds, allowing investors to deal directly with the fund itself, rather than with the authorised fund manager as principal. This aims to simplify fund operations and support faster, more automated settlement, regardless of whether the fund is a traditional or tokenised structure. Following feedback, the FCA decided not to proceed with its proposal to require use of client money accounts for unattributable cash in connection with direct dealing, instead introducing enhanced reconciliation requirements for umbrella‑level cash accounts. The new rules and guidance apply immediately upon publication, with further work on fund tokenisation expected later this year.

Return to main website.