Monument Bank Delays Tokenization of £250M Retail Deposits Over Regulatory Hurdles

Monument Bank, a UK challenger bank based in London, has delayed its project to tokenize retail deposits worth £250 million (approximately $330 million) due to regulatory issues. The project aims to provide tokenized private equity, structured products, and automated Lombard loans for 'mass affluent' clients with investable assets between £50,000 and £5 million.

The bank's founder Mintoo Bhandari stated that the original plan was to launch the world's first tokenized retail deposits on the Midnight network two months ago. However, due to regulatory hurdles, the project has been delayed by an additional two months, with a new expected launch date in November.

To comply with UK regulations, Monument Bank had to expand its search for a suitable custodian to include international options. The bank ultimately found a Canadian custodial institution that has obtained FCA approval. Midnight is a privacy-focused Layer 1 blockchain project supported by Charles Hoskinson, which enables banks to store client information on their systems while allowing them to prove compliance and provide audit records to regulatory bodies.