Eurosystem launches Pontes to settle wholesale tokenised-asset transactions in central bank money
21 September 2026
The Eurosystem launched Pontes on 21 September 2026, the European Central Bank (ECB) announced.
Pontes lets wholesale transactions in tokenised assets be settled in central bank money.
It is the first initiative under the Eurosystem's strategic programme for tokenised finance.
It builds on the Eurosystem's 2024 tests of distributed ledger technology (DLT) for central bank money settlement.
Services will be expanded gradually, with full implementation expected by 2028.
An initial group of market participants and DLT operators, including the European Investment Bank, KfW and Clearstream, has completed onboarding.
A wider DLT ecosystem is being developed under Appia, with a blueprint due by 2028.
In plain words
Eurosystem The ECB together with the national central banks of euro-area countries — The monetary authority of the euro area.
DLT Distributed ledger technology — A shared, synchronised digital record kept across many computers; blockchain is one type.
Tokenisation Issuing or representing assets as digital tokens — Recording an asset such as a bond as a digital token, usually on a DLT network.
Central bank money Money that is a direct claim on a central bank — The risk-free settlement asset, such as reserves banks hold at the central bank.