In a new report by the Scottish Digital Trust Centre of Excellence, it called for Scotland to act quickly to make the most of the increasing adoption of digital assets and tokenisation in the sector.

The Centre, which is based at Edinburgh Napier University, published a briefing paper for senior stakeholders in government, industry bodies and private sector firms to assess the risks and opportunities of digitisation in global financial markets.

Scotland’s Roadmap for Digital Assets and Tokenisation was prepared by Digital Trust Centre CEO Peter Ferry and Visiting Academic to Edinburgh Napier University James Ball, with contributions from Sarah Forbes, Emerging Opportunities Lead for Financial Services at Scottish Enterprise, and Head of Policy at digital assets firm Zumo, Daniel Taylor and Professor Bill Buchanan. It was also reviewed by senior figures at banking and digital asset firms.

The report recommended eight actions to ensure Scotland and its financial sector capitalise on the move towards digitised and tokenised financial assets.

The report noted that 18% of investment management employees were based in Scotland compared with 10% in London in 2024. UK assets managed by Investment Association members reached £11.1 trillion in 2025, up from £10 trillion in 2024.

Overseas clients accounted for 53% of the 2025 total. Scotland’s share of fund operations fell from 24% of investment‐management employment in 2023 to 18% in 2024. The overseas‐domiciled share of UK‐managed fund assets rose from 45% to 69% between 2014 and 2024, with Ireland becoming the largest domicile.

It said: “While this shift alone does not establish that Scottish jobs moved abroad and may highlight the need for broader reforms in UK financial services policy to retain these functions, it does demonstrate a trend of declining activity in funds servicing.

“The Investment Association (IA) also links Scotland’s changing share of assets under management to industry consolidation and faster asset growth elsewhere in the UK. The historical series provides context for changes in the competitiveness of the Scottish financial services industry; identifying causes requires evidence on mandates, market values and organisational changes.

“The introduction of shared records and automation technologies could reduce some reconciliation and processing tasks required by the asset management industry in Scotland, thereby improving margins across facets of the industry that are less likely to be automated or disintermediated by digital asset technology, such as front‐office and client‐facing roles. Employment outcomes resulting from transformation will also depend on adoption, new services, skills and the work that companies retain locally. A Scottish assessment of digital transformation should examine these effects directly.”

It pointed out that Scotland “has the industry depth to lead this change across a large asset‐management and banking base; an established workforce; and a significant share of the Scottish economy in financial services”. 

This change will have a significant impact on Scotland’s financial services sector, which manages more than £450bn in assets and employs around 151,000 people. The paper estimates that adopting the recommended changes could generate between £3-5bn for the Scottish economy.

The report highlights the competitive advantages Scotland holds in the adoption of digital assets and tokenisation as well as the potential risks of not responding to industry-wide changes.

It makes eight near-term recommendations for stakeholders at the Scottish Government, Scottish Enterprise, Scottish Financial Enterprise, FinTech Scotland and the private sector:

- Publish a Digital Assets Policy Statement: A short public commitment naming digital assets and tokenisation as a Scottish economic-development priority.

- Commission a Tokenisation Readiness Assessment: Survey Scotland’s top 20 asset managers and banks on planning horizon, barriers and infrastructure requirements.

- Renewed Digital Trust Centre funding mandate: Supporting a tokenisation testbed aligned to the UK regulatory timeline.

- Assemble a Financial Services Growth and Development Board Digital Assets Taskforce: The FiSGAD Board could provide the institutional home for a national strategy.

- Launch a Digital Assets Investment Proposition: An inward-investment pitch positioning Scotland as the UK’s tokenised wholesale-finance centre.

- Annual Scotland Digital Finance Competitiveness Report: Publicly published; tracks indicators baselined by the Readiness Assessment.

- Scottish Enterprise support for digital assets and tokenisation, sized to the opportunity.

Commission a Scotland-specific economic-impact and jobs analysis: GVA, infrastructure investment and jobs under three scenarios (leader, follower, or late) - the evidential base for the policy statement and Taskforce remit.

Peter Ferry, chief executive at digital trust centre and visiting associate professor at Edinburgh Napier University, said: “Scotland’s financial services industry stands at a watershed. A tide in global finance is turning on tokenisation, and those who move with it will prosper.”  

“We have the people, expertise, great firms and a proud history of financial innovation. This report is a call to action, grounded in evidence. It charts a course; the answers will come and we will navigate it together.”

“What we need now is resolve, and the coordination to act as one, to secure jobs and build the businesses of the future here in Scotland, rather than watch them carried to other shores.”

Sarah Forbes, emerging opportunities lead for Financial Services, Scottish Enterprise, said: “Scotland’s strengths in asset management, FinTech and digital innovation give us a strong foundation to capture the capital investment opportunities created by digital assets and tokenisation.”

“Building on these capabilities can attract further investment, support innovation across the financial services sector and help secure high-value activity in Scotland.”

Nick Jones, founder and chief executive at Zumo, added: “Scotland has a huge opportunity to help drive tokenised capital markets, with Edinburgh emerging as a critical hub within the wider UK digital asset framework.”

“The country combines centuries of unique monetary history with a highly developed tech ecosystem, growing regulatory backing, and targeted legal innovations – such as the Digital Assets (Scotland) Act 2026. And let’s not forget that Scotland set a historical precedent for modern fiat-backed stablecoins in the shape of the Scottish Banknote Regime.”

“If the public and private sectors can now come together to take advantage of these strengths, Scotland will be very well positioned in the future financial services ecosystem.”