The European Central Bank published a keynote speech by Executive Board member Piero Cipollone setting out how tokenisation and distributed ledger technology could reshape financial market infrastructure and what central banks can do to help efficiency gains reach borrowers and savers. The speech signalled that the Eurosystem will provide tokenised central bank money settlement for DLT-based transactions from September 2026 under its Pontes project and has started accepting certain DLT-issued securities as collateral in Eurosystem credit operations. Cipollone argued that tokenisation differs from prior waves of financial technology by allowing issuance, trading, settlement and custody to occur in a single digital environment, but that system-wide gains depend on coordinated adoption, common standards and an architecture that avoids fragmented liquidity and “walled gardens”. He framed the central bank’s role around providing a risk-free settlement asset and supporting liquidity via collateral policy, citing 2024 exploratory work involving 50 trials across nine jurisdictions with transactions totalling roughly EUR 1.6 billion. The speech also positioned the Appia roadmap, published in March, as the longer-term effort to develop by 2028 a blueprint for a European tokenised financial ecosystem, structured around six building blocks spanning technical standards and interoperability, monetary policy implementation, cross-border connectivity and legal and regulatory foundations. Next steps highlighted were the September 2026 delivery of Pontes tokenised settlement and the continuation of Appia’s analytical and practical work with public and private stakeholders, alongside further exploration of expanding collateral eligibility to DLT-issued assets not represented in currently eligible securities settlement systems.
European Central Bank 2026-04-15
European Central Bank outlines September start of Pontes tokenised central bank money settlement and Appia roadmap for tokenised markets
The European Central Bank published a keynote speech by Executive Board member Piero Cipollone on how tokenisation and distributed ledger technology could reshape financial market infrastructure and how the Eurosystem will support this transition. The speech confirmed that under the Pontes project the Eurosystem will provide tokenised central bank money settlement for distributed ledger technology-based transactions from September 2026 and has begun accepting certain distributed ledger technology-issued securities as collateral in Eurosystem credit operations. Cipollone also highlighted the Appia roadmap to develop by 2028 a blueprint for a European tokenised financial ecosystem and indicated further work on expanding collateral eligibility.