The European Central Bank (ECB) has taken a major stride forward in enabling the settlement of distributed ledger technology (DLT) transactions using central bank money through revealing a two-track approach.
The move represents a landmark moment in Europe creating a future-proofed tokenised, DLT-based market infrastructure – an inevitable next step for the world’s capital markets.
The track – project named Pontes – will offer a Eurosystem DLT-based solution, linking DLT platforms and TARGET Services to settle transactions in central bank money. The Eurosystem plans to launch a pilot for Pontes by the end of the third quarter of 2026.
Pontes will offer a single Eurosystem solution which incorporates features used in the Eurosystem’s exploratory work on DLT in 2024.
During the pilot, the Eurosystem will also explore the feasibility of further enhancements in line with the TARGET Services operational, legal and technical standards.
The ECB said between now and the launch of the Pontes pilot, the Eurosystem will consider requests for further DLT-related trials and experiments.
The long-term track – dubbed Appia – focuses on a long-term approach for an innovative and integrated ecosystem in Europe that also facilitates safe and efficient operations at the global level.
The Eurosystem will continue to analyse DLT-based solutions and collaborate with public and private stakeholders.
The ECB added that to ensure continuous dialogue with the market, the Eurosystem will establish dedicated market contact groups for both Pontes and Appia.
A call for expressions of interest in participating in the Pontes contact group will be published soon.