London, Jan 8, 2026, 09:46 GMT — Regular session
- Lloyds shares tick higher as the bank flags a UK-first blockchain transaction
- Deal used “tokenised deposits” to buy a digital version of a UK government bond
- Investors now look to late-January results for the next clear stock driver
Lloyds Banking Group plc (LLOY.L) shares edged up 0.7% to 99.58 pence on Thursday, after trading between 98.31 pence and 99.64 pence and sitting about 2 pence below a 52-week high of 101.70 pence.
The lender said on Wednesday it issued “tokenised deposits” — a digital form of bank money recorded on a blockchain — on the Canton Network and used them to buy a tokenised gilt, or UK government bond, from digital securities firm Archax. Surath Sengupta, head of transaction banking products at Lloyds, called it “a glimpse into the future of finance”, while Archax CEO Graham Rodford said “Instant settlement and enhanced transparency are game-changers”. Lloyds Banking Group
The pitch is speed and control: settle trades in near real time, reduce the plumbing work, and let software carry out routine steps through smart contracts, which are bits of code that execute automatically.
For investors, though, the stock still moves on old drivers — rates, loan demand, and credit quality — unless the new kit starts to show up in costs or fee lines. That may take time.
But pilots come with frictions. The Financial Times reported that other big UK lenders including Barclays, HSBC and NatWest are also testing tokenised deposits, while questions remain over interoperability between banks, cyber risk and whether clients will use it at scale.
A small tech headline can nudge sentiment, but it can also fade fast if traders swing back to the interest-rate story. Faster rate cuts tend to squeeze bank margins; a weaker economy can lift provisions for bad loans.
