HSBC is first company to get Bank of England regulatory approval to go live in the Digital Securities Sandbox

(London) – HSBC Bank Plc has become the first applicant approved by the Bank of England to go live in the UK’s Digital Securities Sandbox (DSS) – a key part of the UK’s innovation agenda for digital assets.

HSBC Orion, HSBC’s digital assets platform, will be able to operate within the DSS as a Digital Securities Depository (DSD) for digitally native bond issuance, servicing and settlement, including the DIGIT or digital gilt instrument, and corporate bonds.

Operated by the Bank of England and the Financial Conduct Authority, the DSS provides a live, flexible regulatory environment to test and implement new technologies, including distributed ledger technology, for the issuance, trading and settlement of securities in the UK.

Patrick George, Global Head of Markets & Securities Services, HSBC, said: “We welcome the Bank of England’s approval for HSBC Orion to be the first digital assets platform to go live in the Digital Securities Sandbox. Having been appointed earlier this year as the issuance platform provider for the DIGIT, we look forward to the inaugural DIGIT pilot issuance, which will be a key event for digital assets in the UK.”

Yesterday, the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced at Mansion House the timeframe for the first DIGIT issuance, expected early next year.

HSBC Orion has to-date enabled over US$5bn of digital bond issuances globally, helping to move digital assets from an experimental stage to a mainstream market development.

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Adam Durchslag
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About HSBC

HSBC Holdings pie, the parent company of HSBC, is headquartered in London. HSBC serves customers worldwide from offices in 56 countries and territories. With assets of US$3,306bn at 31 March 2026, HSBC is one of the world's largest banking and financial services organisations.

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