ECB Green‑lights Dual‑Track Strategy for DLT Settlement Using Central‑Bank Money
Short‑term Pontes pilot by end‑Q3 2026 connects DLT with Eurosystem core systems; Appia targets long‑term global interoperability

The European Central Bank (ECB) has approved a dual‑track strategy to enable settlement of distributed‑ledger‑technology (DLT)‑based financial transactions in central‑bank money, combining a near‑term interoperability pilot with a longer‑term overhaul of wholesale settlement infrastructure. This follows extensive 2024 testing of DLT settlement models with banks, market infrastructures and technology providers, and is part of the Eurosystem’s broader agenda to support tokenisation while preserving monetary and financial stability. In the short term, the ECB will launch Pontes, an interoperability track that builds “bridges” between eligible market DLT platforms and the Eurosystem’s TARGET Services (T2, T2S and TIPS) so that DLT‑recorded transactions can settle in central‑bank money on existing systems. Pontes will start with a pilot phase targeted by end‑Q3 2026, using components and lessons from the 2024 exploratory work to keep time‑to‑market short, followed by enhancements to deepen legal, operational and technical integration. In parallel, from March 2026 the Eurosystem will also begin accepting certain DLT‑based securities as eligible collateral for its credit operations, further integrating tokenised assets into central‑bank operations. In the longer term, the Appia track will explore a more fundamental redesign of wholesale settlement, aiming at a “future‑ready, innovative, integrated financial ecosystem” that can support globally interoperable DLT‑based financial markets. Market and policy discussions frame Appia as a potential path toward a token‑based wholesale central bank digital currency (CBDC) or similar infrastructure that puts central‑bank money directly onto DLT platforms, in contrast to Pontes’ bridge model. For Europe’s banks, market infrastructures and DLT providers, this strategy matters because it sets a concrete roadmap for how tokenised securities and other wholesale DLT use cases can connect safely to central‑bank money, influences future technology and investment choices, and positions the euro area in the global competition over digital market infrastructure design.

✨ AI-generated background, compiled from web sources — not editorial content.

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