Monument Bank plans to tokenize up to £250 million in customer savings on Midnight, or about $315 million. According to the source material, that would make it the first UK-regulated banking institution to place interest-bearing retail deposits on a public blockchain while retaining full regulatory protections.
The deposits are expected to remain fully backed, redeemable in GBP, and covered by UK protections including FSCS. Customers would hold digital tokens through the bank’s app, with those tokens mirroring account balances and functioning like traditional savings holdings, except they exist on-chain. The model does not require users to handle crypto directly, and the tokenized balances would continue to earn interest.
How the tokenized savings model is structured
The system is being built on Midnight’s infrastructure and uses ZK-SNARKs to protect sensitive information. Transaction details are visible only to authorized participants, a design meant to preserve privacy while meeting compliance and audit requirements that regulated financial institutions cannot ignore.
The initiative starts at £250 million, but the source says it could grow into the billions over time. Monument Bank may also expand the framework into private equity, structured products, and flexible lending. The stated aim is to make more advanced financial products available to everyday users without removing the regulatory safeguards tied to bank deposits.
Why Midnight was selected
Midnight is described as a privacy-focused partner chain within the Cardano ecosystem. Its model centers on “rational privacy,” allowing developers to determine what data stays private and what remains public. As of March 2026, Midnight had entered its federated mainnet phase and was moving gradually toward full decentralization.
Google Cloud, MoneyGram, and eToro are named as node operators. The network also integrates LayerZero for cross-chain communication, widening its practical use cases. The source adds that Midnight’s native token, $NIGHT, was trading around $0.044 to $0.045, up 1.24% on the day.
Banks are moving faster on RWA tokenization
Monument Bank’s plan fits into a broader push by banks and asset managers toward real-world asset tokenization. In the source material, that shift is framed as a bridge between traditional finance and blockchain rather than a replacement, turning deposits, bonds, funds, and private equity into digital tokens that can support 24/7 settlement, fractional ownership, better liquidity, and lower costs while keeping regulatory protections intact.
The examples cited are large ones. JPMorgan Chase is said to process more than $1 billion per day through its blockchain platform and has launched deposit tokens and tokenized funds. BNY Mellon has introduced tokenized deposits for collateral use. BlackRock’s BUIDL is identified as the largest tokenized fund, with roughly $2 billion+ in assets under management and short-term Treasuries as underlying holdings. HSBC, Citi, UBS, and Franklin Templeton are also expanding tokenized asset and cross-border settlement efforts.
Data from RWA.xyz in the source shows non-stablecoin RWAs rising to more than $26.60 billion by 2026. Against that backdrop, Monument Bank’s move stands out because it brings retail bank deposits onto a public blockchain with privacy protection attached. The source says the bank is targeting a base of more than 100,000 users, pushing tokenized finance closer to everyday banking use.