Exploring the Future of Wholesale Settlement: Rayls at the Bank of England & BISIH London Centre DLT Innovation Challenge

Last month, Rayls was a proud participant of the DLT Innovation Challenge, an experimental initiative led by the Bank of England in collaboration with the Bank for International Settlements Innovation Hub (BISIH) London Centre.

The challenge brought together a group of organisations — including financial institutions, technology firms, and blockchain innovators — to explore how distributed ledger technology (DLT) could enable secure, interoperable settlement of central bank money on external, programmable ledgers.

Understanding the Challenge

At its core, the DLT Innovation Challenge sought to explore the following question:

“Can wholesale central bank money be transacted and settled on an external
programmable ledger which the Bank of England does not control, and where trust is not inherent?”

The challenge aimed to expand understanding of how trust, security, and interoperability can be established in decentralised or externally governed
infrastructures. It’s not about policy or production systems — it’s about experimentation, collaboration, and understanding what’s technologically possible in the realm of wholesale settlement.

Throughout the process, participating firms were invited to demonstrate how their solutions address key challenges such as:
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● Settlement finality and security – ensuring tamper-proof and auditable
transactions.
● Scalability – supporting high transaction volumes efficiently.
● Network and asset control – balancing decentralisation with compliance.
● Interoperability – enabling seamless communication across diverse systems and
protocols.

Why This Work Matters

The ability to settle in central bank money is a cornerstone of financial stability. As new technologies reshape the financial landscape, it’s essential that these innovations remain compatible with the foundations of trust, liquidity, and safety that underpin the monetary system.

Rayls’ Contribution

As part of this forward-looking initiative, Rayls contributed its expertise to the Challenge, exploring how institutions could securely connect traditional payment systems with distributed ledgers.

Rayls actively participated in all four deep-dive sessions of the Challenge, sharing technical insights and use cases across scalability, governance, and settlement security.

The team subsequently presented on Interoperability during the final showcase on the 21st of October 2025 in a beautiful location in the centre of the City of London Banking Hall.

The event featured a packed and engaging agenda, including panels and discussions with central banks, policymakers, academia, and technology leaders from around the world. These sessions offered a valuable perspective on how DDLT experimentation is expanding globally —and how different jurisdictions are approaching trust, architecture, and interoperability in digital finance.

About Rayls
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Our technology enables:

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● Seamless integration between DLT and legacy financial systems, using ISO standards to ensure compatibility and regulatory alignment.
● Governed and auditable multi-party networks, where institutions retain control over data and policy while transacting across private or public ledgers.
● Institutional-grade scalability and performance, ensuring real-time settlement and reconciliation with existing market infrastructures.

Looking Ahead

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For Rayls, this initiative is a natural continuation of our ongoing work at the intersection of financial infrastructure and distributed systems. Our experience spans
large-scale, real-world projects including:
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● Núclea (Brazil) – powering over 10,000 asset registrations weekly through institutional-grade tokenisation infrastructure.
● Central Bank of Brazil – Drex CBDC Project – supporting secure, interoperable digital currency issuance and settlement across 16 major financial institutions.
● J.P. Morgan Project EPIC – contributing to the privacy and identity layer for next-generation financial networks.
● Transforming Cross-Border Payments – G20 TechSprint 2023 – advancing interoperability for cross-border transactions.
● European Blockchain Sandbox – exploring regulated DLT applications and policy alignment within the European market.

These initiatives underscore our belief that interoperability is the cornerstone of the future financial system. Through collaboration and experimentation, we can bridge the gap between traditional and decentralised infrastructures — enabling trust, efficiency, and innovation to coexist at scale.

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