On October 8, 2026, Consensys and ClearToken announced a partnership to help banks move tokenized assets and cash through always-on infrastructure. The design pairs Consensys’ blockchain systems with ClearToken’s regulated post-trade entities. It is intended to settle eligible securities against fiat money, tokenized bank deposits or stablecoins on a 24/7 basis.
The announcement does not put a new public blockchain or settlement venue into production. It sets out how the two companies plan to connect tokenization, wallets, distribution, cash movement and the legal finality of securities settlement. ClearToken’s securities depository has already passed Gate 2 of the Bank of England’s Digital Securities Sandbox, while its separate clearing entity still needs Bank of England authorization.
How the settlement model is meant to work
The partnership divides finality into two layers. Consensys supplies cryptographic finality, which the companies describe as the technical certainty that an on-chain transaction cannot be altered. ClearToken is responsible for settlement finality, meaning the legal certainty that a transfer of money or securities is final and irrevocable.
ClearToken CSD Limited is designed to turn eligible securities held at different banks into tokenized instruments that remain fungible with one another. Its Gate 2 approval lets it issue and settle tokenized versions of existing securities under Bank of England supervision and within sandbox limits. ClearToken says the instruments use the same ISINs as their conventional counterparts. That structure is meant to preserve holders’ legal rights and avoid splitting liquidity between digital and traditional forms of the same security.
The securities leg would connect to ClearToken Depository Limited for payment. That company is an FCA-authorized payment institution and a registered cryptoasset firm. The partnership says delivery-versus-payment can use fiat, tokenized deposits or stablecoins. Delivery-versus-payment matters because the asset and cash legs are exchanged together rather than leaving one party exposed after completing only one side.
Consensys will provide tokenization infrastructure, wallets and access to institutional clients and partners. Its role also includes connecting banks, brokers and asset managers across blockchain networks and conventional financial market infrastructure. The announcement does not name the networks, wallet products, bank participants or a first transaction. Those details remain open before an institution can judge the operational path from issuance to settlement.
What is already authorized
ClearToken’s Gate 2 approval covers a Digital Securities Depository inside the Bank of England sandbox. ClearToken says it is the second firm to pass Gate 2, the first non-bank to do so and the first approved depository able to settle tokenized equities and corporate bonds alongside sovereign debt. The approval also permits live activity under stated limits rather than an unrestricted market launch.
At launch, the depository plans to support FTSE 350 equities, GBP government debt, GBP corporate bonds and non-GBP corporate bonds. Those assets can be used as collateral in securities financing transactions. The company also plans continuous intraday repo, allowing participants to borrow against collateral for hours instead of relying on batch processing and end-of-day cutoffs.
The sandbox caps assets under custody at £600 million for gilts, £900 million for GBP corporate bonds and £1.8 billion for non-GBP corporate bonds. Public equity limits have not been confirmed. ClearToken also says the sandbox treatment of Tokenised Depository Interests lasts only for the sandbox and sets no precedent for a permanent regime. Until a Bank of England omnibus account is available, users of a commercial-bank-money settlement arrangement bear the settlement bank’s credit risk.
The cash entity has a different status. ClearToken Depository Limited has been authorized and live since December 4, 2025 as an FCA-regulated Authorized Payment Institution. Its payment institution reference is 1017352, and its cryptoasset registration reference is 1016940. ClearToken CCP Limited, which is intended to clear financing trades and derivatives, has applied for central counterparty authorization but has not received it.
What changes for institutions
The arrangement gives Consensys clients a proposed route from blockchain issuance to a supervised UK settlement layer. A bank could tokenize an eligible security, distribute it through Consensys infrastructure and settle it through ClearToken against one of the supported forms of cash. Using the same ISIN is meant to let the asset book into collateral and treasury systems without creating a separate legal instrument for the tokenized version.
For asset managers and brokers, continuous settlement could change when collateral becomes available. ClearToken’s model is designed to mobilize securities and execute repo outside the operating hours imposed by batch systems. The practical benefit depends on participant onboarding, supported networks, custody arrangements and the availability of cash at the same hours. The partnership has not disclosed those implementation choices.
ClearToken is organizing the service across three legal entities rather than putting every function under one license. The securities depository handles the asset leg. The payment institution handles cash, stablecoins and cryptoassets. The proposed central counterparty would cover financing trades and derivatives if the Bank of England approves its application. Institutions evaluating the service will therefore need to assess the permissions and risks of each entity separately. The Gate 2 limits also place a ceiling on how much eligible debt can sit in the depository during the sandbox.
The same separation leaves the partnership with a sequencing problem. Securities settlement and payments have reached live regulatory milestones, but central clearing has not. Consensys can provide the technical connections and distribution while ClearToken completes that regulatory path. The announcement does not commit to a date for the first jointly settled asset, name an initial bank or specify which stablecoins will be accepted.
ClearToken intends to seek approval for more asset classes, including global public equities, private funds, physical commodities such as gold and digital assets. That expansion is conditional on further Bank of England approval. The next milestone is therefore regulatory and operational: the companies still need to identify the first networks and participants, while ClearToken’s clearing arm must secure authorization before the proposed three-entity model covers securities, cash and central clearing.
