Digital, Innovation, Payments
Eurosystem unveils next phase of Pontes initiative for settlement in tokenised markets
Published on 12 March 2026
The Eurosystem has provided an update on its work to enable the use of central bank money for settlement in distributed ledger technology (DLT) environments, marking an important step towards the development of tokenised financial markets in Europe.
During an ECB Focus Session held on 27 February, the Eurosystem outlined the next phases of its programme on tokenised wholesale central bank money, which aims to combine innovation in financial market infrastructures with the continued role of central bank money as the trusted settlement asset of the financial system.
Summary
A programme built around Pontes and Appia
Following exploratory work carried out in 2024, the Eurosystem launched in 2025 a dedicated programme structured around two complementary initiatives: Pontes and Appia.
Together, these projects aim to ensure that central bank money remains the anchor of the financial system, while supporting innovation in the infrastructure underpinning tokenised financial markets and the wider digital asset ecosystem.
Pontes: connecting DLT platforms with central bank money
The first milestone of the programme will be the Pontes Initial Launch, expected in the third quarter of 2026.
Pontes is designed to create a bridge between DLT-based financial market infrastructures and the existing TARGET services, allowing transactions involving tokenised assets to settle in euro central bank money.
Under this framework, the Eurosystem will operate a DLT-based platform managing the cash leg of transactions. Market participants will be able to use Dedicated Cash Wallets, funded from their TARGET accounts, to settle transactions in tokenised central bank money on DLT platforms.
At the same time, the final settlement of the euro cash leg will continue to take place within the TARGET RTGS infrastructure, ensuring continuity with the current settlement framework.
Testing and use cases
The Pontes Initial Launch will support several use cases relevant for financial market infrastructures, including:
- delivery-versus-payment (DvP) settlement of tokenised securities
- payment-versus-payment (PvP) transactions
- wholesale euro-denominated payments
To prepare for the launch, the Eurosystem has established a structured testing and onboarding programme involving central banks, market participants and DLT operators.
User testing with market participants is expected to begin in August 2026, ahead of the planned go-live.
Strong interest from the Luxembourg financial centre
The ABBL closely follows developments in tokenised finance and wholesale central bank money, notably through its Tokenisation and DLT Working Group, which brings together institutions active in this field.
Several ABBL member institutions are already participating in the Eurosystem initiative, contributing to discussions, experiments and preparations related to the Pontes framework.
This engagement reflects the strong interest of the Luxembourg financial centre in the development of tokenised financial markets and next-generation settlement infrastructures.
The Pontes initiative represents an important step in the Eurosystem’s broader strategy to support a future-ready European digital asset ecosystem, while ensuring that central bank money continues to play its central role as the trusted settlement asset in the financial system.
Financial institutions interested in these developments are encouraged to follow the programme and engage with the Banque centrale du Luxembourg.
Andrey Martovoy
Senior Adviser - Innovation & Digital, ABBL
Published on 12 March 2026