In a speech at the Jackson Hole Economic Policy Symposium, European Central Bank Executive Board member Isabel Schnabel argued that central banks should issue reserves as native programmable assets on distributed ledgers rather than rely solely on bridge arrangements or private intermediaries. Stablecoins may complement central bank money, but cannot replace it as the ultimate settlement asset because issuers cannot expand liquidity elastically during periods of stress. On-chain central bank money could also support faster liquidity provision, automated collateral management and more flexible monetary policy operations through smart contracts. Tokenisation could reduce settlement risk and automate complex processes such as repo collateral substitution and margin management, with particular benefits for cross-border transactions. For the euro area, common tokenised infrastructure could also lower barriers to market participation and reduce fragmentation across national financial systems. However, the architecture must balance the interoperability and atomic-settlement benefits of a unified ledger against governance, concentration, resilience and technology lock-in risks. The argument advances the Eurosystem’s existing Pontes and Appia work. Pontes is scheduled to launch in September 2026 with a synchronisation mechanism linking TARGET Services to market distributed ledger technology platforms and a Eurosystem-operated settlement platform. Cash-leg finality will initially remain anchored in TARGET2 but is intended ultimately to move onto the Eurosystem platform, with smart contracts and 24/7 operations added later. Appia is assessing longer-term models ranging from a unified European ledger to multiple interconnected public and private ledgers.
2026-08-28European Central Bank
European Central Bank Executive Board member argues for native on-chain central bank money and details Pontes launch
European Central Bank Executive Board member Isabel Schnabel argued that central bank money should become a native programmable asset on distributed ledgers, with stablecoins remaining complementary rather than replacing it. The Eurosystem’s Pontes platform is due to launch in September 2026, while Appia is assessing whether tokenized reserves should operate through a unified or interoperable multi-ledger architecture.