The report was put together by the Digital Trust Centre, based at Edinburgh Napier University
Scotland needs to act quickly to make the most of the increasing adoption of digital assets and tokenisation in the finance sector, according to a new report by the Scottish Digital Trust Centre of Excellence.
The Centre, which is based at Edinburgh Napier University, has published a briefing paper for senior stakeholders in government, industry bodies and private sector firms to assess the risks and opportunities of digitisation in global financial markets.
The report recommends eight actions to ensure Scotland and its financial sector capitalises on the move towards digitised and tokenised financial assets – including a Scottish Government policy statement, a tokenisation readiness assessment and a digital assets taskforce.
It comes as the Digital Trust Centre invites companies to build solutions in this space as part of its latest Innovation Challenge, with grant funding on offer to successful teams.
Across the industry, investment assets and payments increasingly moving onto digitised systems, based on blockchain and distributed ledger technology. While today less than one dollar in every $10,000 of the world's investments is held in tokenised form, experts believe it could rise to one in every $6 by 2035.
This change will have a significant impact on Scotland’s financial services sector, which manages £500bn in assets and employs around 151,000 people.
The paper estimates that adopting the recommended changes could generate between £3-5bn for the Scottish economy.
Scotland's Roadmap for Digital Assets and Tokenisation was prepared by Digital Trust Centre CEO Peter Ferry (pictured) and ENU visiting academic James Ball, with contributions from Sarah Forbes, Emerging Opportunities Lead for Financial Services at Scottish Enterprise, and Head of Policy at Zumo, Daniel Taylor. It was also reviewed by senior figures at banking and digital asset firms.
Peter Ferry, CEO, Digital Trust Centre and Visiting Associate Professor at Edinburgh Napier University, said: "Scotland's financial services industry stands at a watershed. A tide in global finance is turning on tokenisation, and those who move with it will prosper.
“We have the people, expertise, great firms and a proud history of financial innovation. This report is a call to action, grounded in evidence. It charts a course; the answers will come and we will navigate it together.
“What we need now is resolve, and the coordination to act as one, to secure jobs and build the businesses of the future here in Scotland, rather than watch them carried to other shores."
Sarah Forbes, Emerging Opportunities Lead for Financial Services, Scottish Enterprise, said: "Scotland's strengths in asset management, FinTech and digital innovation give us a strong foundation to capture the capital investment opportunities created by digital assets and tokenisation.
“Building on these capabilities can attract further investment, support innovation across the financial services sector and help secure high-value activity in Scotland."
Nick Jones, Founder and CEO, Zumo, added: “Scotland has a huge opportunity to help drive tokenised capital markets, with Edinburgh emerging as a critical hub within the wider UK digital asset framework.
“The country combines centuries of unique monetary history with a highly developed tech ecosystem, growing regulatory backing, and targeted legal innovations – such as the Digital Assets (Scotland) Act 2026. And let’s not forget that Scotland set a historical precedent for modern fiat-backed stablecoins in the shape of the Scottish Banknote Regime.
“If the public and private sectors can now come together to take advantage of these strengths, Scotland will be very well positioned in the future financial services ecosystem.”
Eight recommended actions
Scotland's Roadmap for Digital Assets and Tokenisation highlights the competitive advantages Scotland holds in the adoption of digital assets and tokenisation – as well as the potential risks of not responding to industry-wide changes.
It makes eight near-term recommendations for stakeholders at the Scottish Government, Scottish Enterprise, Scottish Financial Enterprise, FinTech Scotland and the private sector:
- Publish a Digital Assets Policy Statement: A short public commitment naming digital assets and tokenisation a Scottish economic-development priority.
- Commission a Tokenisation Readiness Assessment: Survey Scotland’s top 20 asset managers and banks on planning horizon, barriers and infrastructure requirements.
- Renewed Digital Trust Centre funding mandate: Supporting a tokenisation testbed aligned to the UK regulatory timeline.
- Assemble a Financial Services Growth and Development Board Digital Assets Taskforce: The FiSGAD Board could provide the institutional home for a national strategy.
- Launch a Digital Assets Investment Proposition: An inward-investment pitch positioning Scotland as the UK’s tokenised wholesale-finance centre.
- Annual Scotland Digital Finance Competitiveness Report: Publicly published; tracks indicators baselined by the Readiness Assessment.
- Scottish Enterprise support for digital assets and tokenisation, sized to the opportunity
- Commission a Scotland-specific economic-impact and jobs analysis: GVA, infrastructure investment and jobs under three scenarios (leader, follower, or late) - the evidential base for the policy statement and Taskforce remit.
The growth of digital assets
The report describes how digital asset technology is a ‘generational upgrade’ to the finance industry.
It is published weeks after Edinburgh asset management firm Baillie Gifford launched the UK's first natively tokenised investment fund.
Digital assets rely on distributed ledger and blockchain technologies, to ensure that privacy, security and resilience are built into the system.
Tokenisation is described as creating a digital version of a financial asset that can be tracked and traded online.
It represents a key element of the work undertaken by the Digital Trust Centre, to protect sensitive data and link transactions across different systems.
Tokenisation Innovation Challenge – pre-registration now open
Alongside the report, the Digital Trust Centre is launching its third Innovation Challenge, focused on tokenisation and digital assets, in partnership with Morgan Stanley and Zumo.
The Challenge invites companies to develop and test solutions against a real industry problem in the digital assets space, with grant funding awarded to successful teams.
Shortlisted teams also receive structured development support, hands-on mentoring, and direct access to the Centre's industry partners for market connections.
Previous challenges have helped participants form new companies, secure follow-on interest from major financial institutions, and open routes into commercial opportunities.
Pre-registration is now open, ahead of the full launch in early October. Companies can register their interest now.