Tokenised GBP (tGBP) is a digital token designed to track the British Pound Sterling 1:1 on public blockchains. It was launched in June 2025 by BCP Technologies after a 14-month review that included a period in the UK Financial Conduct Authority’s regulatory sandbox, concluding on 31 May 2025. The token lets holders move sterling value on-chain instead of through a bank ledger.
What tGBP is structurally
tGBP is a fiat-backed stablecoin issued by BCP Technologies, formerly known as BitcoinPoint, a firm registered with the FCA. Each token in circulation is matched by reserves of cash and short-dated UK government bonds held in a segregated account at a UK-regulated bank.
The issuer describes tGBP as the first sterling-denominated stablecoin to launch under FCA registration in the UK. BCP Technologies states the token is fully redeemable for pounds at any time, distinguishing the reserve structure from an algorithmic or under-collateralized design.
tGBP exists as a native token on six blockchains: Ethereum, Base, Avalanche, Polygon, BNB Chain, and Solana. Running on several chains means the same sterling balance can move through different transaction environments depending on which network a wallet or exchange supports.
How it works in practice
A user typically opens an account with BCP Technologies, completes identity verification, and sends GBP through UK banking rails such as Faster Payments. Once the transfer clears, the issuer mints the matching amount of tGBP and sends it to the user’s wallet address on the chosen blockchain.
After minting, tGBP behaves like any other token on that network. It can sit in a self-custody wallet, move between wallets, or be deposited into a decentralized finance protocol as collateral.
Wallet-to-wallet transfers settle in the time the underlying chain takes to confirm a block, typically seconds on Base or Polygon rather than the days a cross-border bank transfer can take. Reported use cases include cross-border payments, institutional collateral management, and providing a sterling leg for bitcoin-backed loans.
Redemption reverses the process. A user sends tGBP back to the issuer, the tokens are burned, and the issuer transfers the equivalent GBP amount to a linked UK bank account. Both minting and redemption depend on the issuer’s own verification and processing rather than the blockchain, so timing follows business hours rather than block confirmation.
tGBP has also been listed on centralized exchanges, including Kraken and Coinbase, letting holders acquire or exit positions through an order book rather than a direct mint-and-redeem relationship with BCP Technologies. By early adoption, over £1.1 million worth of tGBP had been minted across the supported chains.
Fees and pricing mechanics
BCP Technologies has stated it offers direct minting and redemption for verified users without a separate management fee. This structure differs from money market funds or bank deposits, which typically apply an ongoing fee or spread against a benchmark rate.
Moving tGBP on-chain still carries network transaction costs, which are paid to the underlying blockchain rather than to the issuer. Ethereum mainnet transactions are typically more expensive than the same transfer on Base, Polygon, or BNB Chain, so the network a user selects has a direct effect on the cost of moving funds.
Buying or selling tGBP through an exchange such as Kraken or Coinbase instead of minting directly introduces the exchange’s own trading fees and any spread between the quoted price and the sterling peg.
Limits, eligibility, and availability
Direct minting and redemption require identity verification consistent with UK anti-money laundering rules, which restricts that pathway to individuals and businesses who complete BCP Technologies’ onboarding process. Holding or transferring tGBP once minted does not require an account with the issuer.
The Bank of England has proposed temporary holding limits for stablecoins it judges systemically important, reported at £20,000 for individuals and £10 million for businesses. The stated aim is to prevent large, rapid shifts of deposits out of the banking system during a stress event, and the proposal has not been finalized as of this writing.
Industry commentary has raised the question of how such limits would be enforced once tokens move to secondary markets or non-UK wallets, since a blockchain transfer does not pass through the same checkpoints as a bank transfer. Availability of tGBP on a given exchange or wallet also depends on that platform’s own listing and jurisdiction rules, which vary by country.
Tradeoffs, risks, and limitations
Regulatory treatment of sterling stablecoins is still being finalized. The Bank of England has proposed that issuers deemed systemic hold at least 40% of backing assets in unremunerated deposits at the central bank, a requirement that would affect how an issuer earns income from its reserves if applied to BCP Technologies.
tGBP is issued by an FCA-registered firm, but that registration status is not the same as deposit protection. The token is not covered by the UK Financial Services Compensation Scheme, so holders carry the risk that reserves prove insufficient or that a redemption request is delayed or refused.
Multi-chain issuance adds operational surface area. A bug, network outage, or bridge failure on any one of the six supported chains could affect the tokens issued there, separately from the state of the underlying GBP reserves. Regulatory changes, including the proposed BOE holding limits, could also alter how much tGBP a given user or business is permitted to hold in the future.
