UK Banks to Pilot Tokenized Sterling for Programmable Payments
• UK’s major banks to test tokenized deposits for programmable payments.
• Pilot aims to improve payment efficiency and reduce fraud.
• Involves collaborations with Quant Network and financial services firms.
UK Finance, with six leading banks including Barclays and HSBC, starts a pilot of tokenized sterling deposits to advance programmable payments in the UK, running until mid-2026.
The initiative aims to enhance payment efficiency and fraud prevention, potentially transforming the traditional banking sector while aligning with the Bank of England’s regulatory vision.
Six leading UK banks are collaborating to trial tokenized sterling deposits via blockchain, targeting efficiency and fraud reduction.
This initiative signifies a notable shift in financial practices with potential ripple effects on payment systems globally.
Tokenized Deposits Trial Involves Six UK Banks
UK Finance is leading a major pilot involving tokenized sterling deposits with Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds, NatWest, Nationwide, and Santander. The pilot will run until mid-2026, focusing on programmable payments. Quant Network provides the blockchain infrastructure for the pilot, while EY and Linklaters supply technical and legal support. This project builds on previous experiments such as the UK’s Regulated Liability Network.
Potential Impact on UK Financial Policies
This initiative could transform how banks handle deposits, enhancing payment efficiency. Participation by six major banks aligns with government infrastructure agendas and signals a serious industry commitment. The pilot is expected to influence UK financial policy, as noted by Bank of England officials, and could impact future regulations for stablecoins and programmable finance. “Tokenizing deposits helps ensure commercial bank money maintains a central role in the economy,” said Ryan Hayward, Head of Digital Assets at Barclays. #Quant
Databricks And OpenAI Complete $100 Million Enterprise AI Partnership
• Databricks and OpenAI complete a $100 million partnership to enhance AI access.
• Deal integrates OpenAI’s GPT-5 into Databricks platform.
• No direct crypto market impact seen from this enterprise-focused partnership.
Databricks and OpenAI have formalized a $100 million deal to integrate GPT-5 into Databricks’ platform, enhancing AI access for over 20,000 enterprise clients globally.
This partnership signifies a major advancement in enterprise AI capabilities, though it currently shows no direct impact on the cryptocurrency market or on blockchain metrics.
Databricks and OpenAI have finalized a $100 million multi-year partnership to make OpenAI’s models, including GPT-5, natively available for Databricks’ enterprise clients.
The deal aims to enhance AI access for over 20,000 Databricks users, expanding AI integration without direct implications for crypto markets.
20,000 Clients to Access OpenAI Models
The partnership between Databricks and OpenAI signifies a major step in AI accessibility for businesses. 20,000 enterprise clients will benefit from OpenAI’s advanced models. This collaboration marks the first integration of OpenAI’s latest models within a business-centric platform.
OpenAI’s Sam Altman and Databricks’ Ali Ghodsi cooperated to facilitate this integration. Key models from OpenAI will now be part of Databricks’ platform, providing seamless AI capabilities to enterprises. As Ali Ghodsi, Co-founder & CEO of Databricks, stated, “Databricks and OpenAI today announced a multi-year partnership to make OpenAI models natively available within the Databricks Data Intelligence Platform…” (source).
Enterprise AI Gains, Crypto Unchanged
The enterprise AI landscape sees a shift as this partnership enhances clients’ capabilities without affecting traditional crypto markets. Immediate gains are anticipated in data analytics and AI deployment sectors. #OpneAI #CryptoMarket