Ashurst advises UK Government on landmark Digital Gilt Instrument (DIGIT) Pilot
12 February 2026
Global law firm Ashurst is advising the UK Government on the Digital Gilt Instrument (DIGIT) pilot, a pioneering initiative to issue a digitally native sovereign bond.
The DIGIT pilot will see the UK issue a digitally native sovereign bond through HSBC's Orion platform, delivering on-chain settlement and trading functionality. Ashurst's Digital Assets team is supporting the government in its preparations to launch DIGIT, the latest in a series of high-profile mandates reflecting the firm's leadership in shaping the regulatory and legal framework for Digital Assets globally.
The initiative seeks to enable the government to explore how distributed ledger technology (DLT) can be applied to UK sovereign debt issuance processes and to catalyse the development of UK-based DLT infrastructure and the adoption of DLT across UK financial markets and beyond.
The Ashurst team is being led by partner and head of digital assets Etay Katz and counsel Sid Ulker.
Commenting on this transformational project, Etay Katz said, "We are proud to have been appointed by HM Treasury to advise on this landmark transaction. We are thrilled to be working alongside HSBC, with whom we have a longstanding relationship spanning major digital bond issuances globally, including on the HSBC Orion platform. Our team brings deep and unique expertise in advising on complex digital assets transactions and innovative technological structures and we look forward to supporting the government as it takes this important step for UK capital markets."
