UK Banks Tokenize Customer Deposits to Close Two Mortgage Refinancings

This matters less as a crypto story than as a bank-led incursion into settlement infrastructure: tokenized deposits keep funds on the regulated balance sheet while delivering the atomic, conditional transfer that has been the main practical argument for blockchain rails. The participants are incumbents, not challengers, which suggests the technology is being absorbed rather than disrupted. The open question is whether escrow-style conditional settlement becomes a routine tool for mortgage and collateral workflows, or remains a pilot exercise.