HSBC wins Bank of England approval to enter Digital Securities Sandbox

The Bank of England approved HSBC Orion as the first live operator in its Digital Securities Sandbox, positioning the platform to settle the UK's first digital sovereign bond (Digital Gilt Instrument) in Q1 2027. HSBC will operate as a digital securities depository supporting tokenised bond issuance, servicing and settlement. HSBC just won the race to be the UK's plumbing for digital bonds. If you're building settlement, custody, or investor access tools for tokenised securities, you now know who controls the on-ramp — and whether you need to integrate with them or compete.