ECB launches Pontes to settle tokenized assets in euros

The European Central Bank has launched Pontes, a platform that lets banks and eligible financial institutions in the euro area settle transactions in tokenized assets using euros held in central‑bank money on distributed ledgers. The system is aimed at wholesale markets and is designed to speed settlement and automate parts of an asset’s lifecycle.

Pontes allows central‑bank money to be used directly on blockchain networks so tokenized securities and other digital instruments can be cleared and settled without relying only on privately issued settlement tokens. The ECB said the technology “has the potential to make transactions faster and more efficient by bundling multiple steps of an asset’s lifecycle… and enabling automation.”

The platform is part of the Eurosystem’s broader tokenisation work and will sit alongside Appia, the project focused on designing the longer‑term ecosystem for tokenised markets. Pontes is intended as a near‑term settlement solution for financial institutions; the retail digital euro for consumer payments remains a separate project with potential issuance targeted for 2029. ECB President Christine Lagarde described Pontes as “a digital euro made available for banks.”

The ECB has selected 36 banks, fintechs and payments firms to take part in a 12‑month pilot expected to start in the second half of 2027. Deutsche Bank and Santander are among the named early participants that could use Pontes to settle tokenized securities with central‑bank money rather than private settlement assets or stablecoins.

One objective is to provide an institutional alternative to dollar‑backed stablecoins, which European policymakers have flagged as a risk to the role of public money in payments and settlement. The ECB has warned that widespread stablecoin use could weaken banks’ retail deposit bases and change the structure of payment and settlement systems.

Separately, the ECB plans to allocate a small portion of its €23 billion portfolio investment fund to blockchain‑based securities, focusing on highly rated euro‑denominated public debt issued in tokenised form. The allocation is intended to give the central bank limited exposure and operational experience with tokenised instruments.

Regulatory scrutiny of large crypto firms has increased in parallel with the launch. A recent attempt by a major exchange to obtain an EU‑wide markets licence was cancelled after the ECB president raised concerns about the company’s U.S. financial‑crime violations and the potential dominance of dollar‑backed stablecoins in Europe.

Pontes will be tested in live pilot environments to assess technical integration, legal arrangements and operational procedures for using central‑bank money on distributed ledgers. Findings from the pilot are expected to inform the Appia programme and the Eurosystem’s approach to integrating tokenisation into existing market infrastructures.