FCA Director Relleen Puts PISCES at Seven Transactions and Promises a Tokenisation Roadmap in Weeks
Jon Relleen, the Financial Conduct Authority's Director of Infrastructure and Exchanges, used a speech on 5 October 2026 to update the market on PISCES, the digital gilt and tokenisation. Speaking at the Reform of the UK Public and Private Capital Markets Summit, he said four operators have been authorised under PISCES and seven transactions have taken place so far, and that a joint tokenisation roadmap will be published in the coming weeks.
Seven PISCES transactions across four operators
Relleen said the FCA created the new marketplace for trading shares in private companies after seeing private markets grow. He said four operators are now authorised and that the seven transactions so far involved companies ranging from tech firms to brewers and board-game makers.
For founders, the regulator's count is useful because it is an official baseline against which later activity can be measured. We counted auctions operator by operator in our PISCES anniversary analysis, and the speech does not change that picture, but it confirms the scale the regulator itself sees.
DIGIT digital gilt and the Digital Securities Sandbox
Relleen said the Digital Securities Sandbox will support issuance of the new digital gilt, known as DIGIT, early next year, and that many in the market think its success could catalyse wider digital activity in the UK. That fits the timetable HM Treasury set out when it confirmed the first G7 digital gilt for the first quarter of 2027.
The sandbox is also the route the regulators have promised to turn into permanent rules, as we reported when the FCA and Bank of England set out the path from sandbox to permanent tokenised market rules.
Stablecoins and the tokenisation roadmap
Relleen said the FCA, working with HM Treasury and the Bank of England, has developed a regulatory framework for stablecoins, described as a UK regime for non-systemic stablecoins.
On tokenisation, he said the regulators will publish a joint roadmap in the coming weeks, setting out how the UK's wholesale markets will adapt as the benefits of tokenisation are realised. He added that the FCA will provide certainty in areas such as prudential treatment, custody and market infrastructure.
The roadmap has no published date and no content yet, so founders planning tokenised raises should treat it as a signal of direction, not a rule.
Key takeaways
PISCES has four authorised operators and seven transactions, according to the FCA's own count.
The DIGIT digital gilt is due to be issued through the Digital Securities Sandbox early next year.
A joint regulator roadmap for tokenisation in wholesale markets is expected in the coming weeks, with more detail on prudential treatment, custody and market infrastructure to follow.
Sources
How we got here
PISCES, the Private Intermittent Securities and Capital Exchange System, was set up as a sandbox under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2023. The PISCES Sandbox Regulations 2025 came into force on 5 June 2025 and allow the sandbox to run for up to five years, until 5 June 2030. The FCA published its final rules, the PISCES Sourcebook, in Policy Statement PS25/6 on 10 June 2025.
Each operator needs a specific FCA approval, known as a PISCES Approval Notice, and the FCA reviews its operating model and platform rules before granting it. Trading happens in intermittent, time-limited events rather than continuously. The UK Market Abuse Regulation does not apply. Instead, a bespoke disclosure regime requires the company to give participating investors core information before each trading event, covering its business and management, historic financials, capital structure and share rights, material risks and related party matters.
What it means for UK founders
Seven transactions is a modest total, but the spread of company types the FCA described shows that the route is not limited to venture-backed technology businesses. For founders, PISCES offers a way to give early shareholders and staff periodic liquidity without a public listing, while keeping more control over who buys and how shares are marketed. Eligible buyers are limited to certain sophisticated investors, high net worth individuals and qualifying individuals such as employees, directors and consultants. UK companies and overseas companies without shares admitted to a public market can take part.
Two details matter for employee equity. HM Treasury said in May 2025 that employees holding EMI or CSOP options can exercise them on PISCES without losing the schemes' tax advantages, and the government has committed to exempting PISCES transactions from stamp duty and stamp duty reserve tax. Because disclosure models and admission rules are set by each operator, terms can differ between platforms. Founders weighing a trading event may want to take professional advice.
What happens next
The joint tokenisation roadmap is the next item to watch. It follows the joint vision for tokenisation in wholesale markets that the regulators published in May 2026. The DIGIT digital gilt is expected through the Digital Securities Sandbox early in 2027, and Relleen said the FCA will appoint a provider for the equity consolidated tape next year. The PISCES sandbox itself can run until 5 June 2030 at the latest.
Further reading
Frequently asked questions
How many PISCES transactions has the FCA counted so far?
In a speech on 5 October 2026, FCA director Jon Relleen said four operators have been authorised under PISCES and seven transactions have taken place so far. He said the companies involved ranged from tech firms to brewers and board-game makers.
What is PISCES in the UK?
PISCES is a marketplace the FCA created for trading shares in private companies, which Relleen said followed the growth of private markets.
When will the UK DIGIT digital gilt be issued?
Relleen said the Digital Securities Sandbox will support issuance of the DIGIT digital gilt early next year. This fits HM Treasury's timetable for the first G7 digital gilt in the first quarter of 2027.
When will the UK regulators publish their joint tokenisation roadmap?
Relleen said the joint roadmap will be published in the coming weeks, setting out how UK wholesale markets will adapt to tokenisation. No firm date or content had been published at the time of the speech.
Does the UK have a regulatory framework for stablecoins?
Relleen said the FCA, working with HM Treasury and the Bank of England, has developed a regulatory framework for stablecoins, described as a UK regime for non-systemic stablecoins.
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