Monument Bank Brings £250M Deposits On-Chain via Midnight

Monument Bank Advances UK Banking With Privacy-First Tokenization

Monument Bank is taking a major step in financial innovation by planning to tokenize up to £250 million, around $315M USD, in customer savings on the Midnight. This move makes Monument Bank the first UK-regulated banking institution to bring interest-bearing retail deposits onto a public blockchain while maintaining full regulatory protections.

The initiative ensures deposits remain fully backed, redeemable in GBP, and protected under UK frameworks like FSCS. Customers will hold digital tokens through the bank’s app, which function just like traditional savings accounts but exist on-chain.

How Monument Bank Savings Tokenization Works

With Monument's savings tokenization plan, users don’t need to directly handle crypto. Their deposits are converted into digital tokens that mirror their account balance and continue earning interest.

Built on Midnight’s infrastructure, the system uses zero-knowledge proofs (ZK-SNARKs) to keep sensitive data private. This means transaction details are only visible to authorized participants, ensuring privacy, compliance, and auditability—a key requirement for regulated financial services.

The project begins with £250 million but could scale to billions. Over time, it may expand into private equity, structured products, and flexible lending, opening advanced financial tools to everyday users.

If successful, this model could redefine banks deposit tokenization on distributed chain, making financial systems more flexible, transparent, and accessible, without compromising security or compliance.

Choice of Midnight Blockchain: Privacy Meets Compliance

The Midnight Blockchain is a privacy-focused partner chain in the Cardano ecosystem. It enables “rational privacy,” where developers can choose what data stays private and what remains public.

As of March 2026, Midnight has entered its federated mainnet phase, gradually moving toward full decentralization. High-profile partners like Google Cloud, MoneyGram, and eToro are already involved as node operators, signaling strong institutional interest.

The network also integrates with tools like LayerZero for cross-chain communication, further expanding its real-world use cases.

Its ecosystem powering native tokens, $NIGHT, is currently trading at ~$0.044–$0.045, up 1.24% today.  

Global Trend: Banks Accelerating Real-World Asset Tokenization

The move by Monument Bank is part of a much larger global shift, where traditional banks and asset managers are rapidly adopting real-world asset (RWA) tokenization. 

The trend does not replace traditional finance but instead bridges TradFi and blockchain through hybrid models. 

This process converts assets like deposits, bonds, funds, and private equity into digital tokens on blockchain networks, enabling 24/7 settlement, fractional ownership, improved liquidity, and lower costs—all while maintaining regulatory protections.

This partnership highlights how Monument is bridging traditional finance with blockchain innovation. By combining privacy, regulation, and accessibility, the banking institution is making tokenized finance practical for over 100,000 users.

Several major players are already active:

• JPMorgan Chase processes over $1 billion daily through its blockchain platform and has launched deposit tokens and tokenized funds. 

• BNY Mellon (world's largest custodian) launched tokenized deposits for collateral use

• BlackRock leads with BUIDL (USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund), the largest tokenized fund (~$2B+ AUM), holding short-term Treasuries. 

Other institutions like HSBC, Citi, UBS, and Franklin Templeton are also expanding into tokenized assets and cross-border settlement solutions.

This momentum is backed by strong market growth. Non-stablecoin RWAs surged to over $26.60 billion by 2026 as per RWA.xyz, with projections pointing toward a $100 billion+ market in the coming years. Regulatory support across the UK, EU, US, and Asia is further accelerating this transition from pilot programs to real-world implementation.

In this context, Monument Bank’s approach stands out for bringing retail banking deposits onto a public blockchain with privacy protection, potentially setting a new standard for how everyday users interact with tokenized financial products.