The Governing Council of the European Central Bank has decided to expand the Eurosystem’s initiative to settle transactions recorded on distributed ledger technology (DLT) in central bank money, using a two-track approach. In the near term, the Eurosystem will develop and implement a platform for DLT-based settlements via an interoperability link with TARGET Services, while also examining a more integrated long-term solution. The longer-term work will also cover international operations, including foreign exchange settlement. The initiative is positioned as supporting innovation in market infrastructures while maintaining the safety and efficiency of TARGET Services, and it is intended to contribute to an integrated European market for digital assets in line with the Governing Council’s earlier call to promote a digital capital markets union. A detailed timeline for the interoperability platform is to be announced in due course. Further analysis of new technologies and engagement with public and private stakeholders will continue, building on the May to November 2024 exploratory work that involved 64 participants and more than 50 trials and experiments, including trials with actual settlement in central bank money and experiments with mock settlement.
European Central Bank 2025-02-20
European Central Bank expands DLT settlement in central bank money initiative with TARGET interoperability and a long-term integrated solution
The European Central Bank's Governing Council will expand the Eurosystem's initiative to settle transactions on distributed ledger technology (DLT) in central bank money using a two-track approach. In the short term, a platform for DLT-based settlements will be developed via an interoperability link with TARGET Services, while a more integrated long-term solution is explored. This initiative aims to support innovation in market infrastructures and contribute to an integrated European market for digital assets.