ECB opens blockchain link to financial markets
- On Monday, September 21, 2026, the European Central Bank launched Pontes, connecting the Eurosystem's TARGET Services to blockchain-based financial markets for settling tokenized asset transactions in central bank euros.
- Last month, ECB Executive Board member Isabel Schnabel urged central banks to "go on-chain," arguing public institutions must participate directly as wholesale finance adopts tokenization to keep money "fit for the digital age."
- Deutsche Bank, Santander, and Clearstream have completed onboarding for Pontes, which initially operates between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. CET on business days; the ECB is allocating a "small portion" of its €23 billion own funds to blockchain securities.
- Unlike settlement via private stablecoins, Pontes enables institutions to use central bank money, which the ECB stated can make transactions "faster and more efficient by bundling multiple steps of an asset's lifecycle... and enabling automation."
- The ECB is developing Appia to produce a blueprint for tokenized finance across Europe, while preparing a retail digital euro pilot for 2027, with potential issuance in 2029 pending Governing Council decisions.
76 Articles
76 Articles
The ECB Just Launched a Way to Settle Tokenized Assets Without Stablecoins. What It Means for RLUSD and XRP in Europe.
The post The ECB Just Launched a Way to Settle Tokenized Assets Without Stablecoins. What It Means for RLUSD and XRP in Europe. appeared first on 24/7 Wall St..The European Central Bank (ECB) has launched a new settlement system called Pontes. The system lets eurozone banks settle trades involving tokenized assets using central bank money instead of stablecoins. Christine Lagarde announced the launch at a Eurogroup meeting on September 18, and P…
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ECB Connects Blockchain Markets to Central Bank Payments
The European Central Bank has launched Pontes, a service connecting its payment infrastructure with blockchain-based financial markets and enabling transactions to be settled in central bank-backed euros. The ECB also plans to invest a small portion of its own funds in highly rated, euro-denominated blockchain securities.
ECB launches 'Pontes' to settle tokenised assets in central bank money
The Eurosystem has launched Pontes, a system allowing banks to settle trades in tokenised assets using central bank money, and the ECB said it will invest some of its own funds in tokenised securities through it, the first concrete steps towards making the euro fit for the digital age.
The New York Ledger
BitnewsbotECB launches Pontes to settle tokenized assets without stablecoins
Pontes will expand its services and operating hours gradually, with full implementation expected by 2028 and more participants set to join. The European Central Bank (ECB) launched Pontes, a system that allows financial institutions to settle wholesale tokenized asset transactions in central bank money, providing an alternative to private settlement assets such as stablecoins. The […]
ECB launches Pontes to bridge tokenized asset markets with Eurosystem payment infrastructure
Designed exclusively for regulated financial institutions, the wholesale platform ensures digital bonds and tokenized funds settle against risk-free central-bank assets rather than private stablecoins.
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