The European Central Bank launched Pontes on Monday, a platform that lets eligible banks settle tokenized-asset transactions directly in central-bank money. The system connects distributed-ledger platforms to the Eurosystem's payment rails as an alternative to stablecoins, and it runs separately from the ECB's retail digital euro project.
The European Central Bank launched Pontes on Monday, a platform that lets banks and other eligible financial institutions settle tokenized-asset transactions in central-bank money. Pontes links distributed-ledger platforms to the Eurosystem's TARGET Services, giving institutions a central-bank-money option for the cash leg of a trade instead of relying solely on stablecoins or tokenized commercial-bank deposits.
Deutsche Bank, Santander and Clearstream join at launch
Deutsche Bank, Santander and Clearstream are among the institutions participating as the service moves beyond trials. According to ECB Executive Board member Piero Cipollone: "brings the stability and trust of central bank money to the European tokenised finance ecosystem."
Pontes follows the Eurosystem's 2024 exploratory work, which involved 64 participants, more than 200 transactions and €1.59 billion in settled value across securities settlement, repo transactions and wholesale payments. The ECB also plans to allocate part of its roughly €23 billion own-funds portfolio to highly rated, euro-denominated digital securities issued by public-sector institutions.
Separate from the retail digital euro
The wholesale platform is distinct from the ECB's retail digital euro, which remains a separate project. The ECB selected 36 banks and payment firms to join a one-year pilot slated to begin in the second half of 2027, ahead of possible issuance in 2029. Pontes, by contrast, will expand its services and operating hours gradually, with full implementation expected by 2028.
Alongside Pontes, the Eurosystem is also developing Appia, a complementary initiative exploring an integrated ecosystem for DLT-based financial services, with a blueprint expected by 2028. Pontes will only be available to eligible financial institutions and market infrastructure providers, and it will be developed in stages alongside that longer-term effort.
Sources: CoinDesk, Cointelegraph, Crypto News Flash
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