Forex News
ECB Details Pontes and Appia Plans for Tokenised Settlement
ECB Executive Board member Piero Cipollone outlined Pontes and Appia, two linked plans for tokenised settlement, in a Frankfurt speech on Aug 26, 2026.
- Pontes is due to launch this year, connecting market DLT platforms with the Eurosystem's TARGET Services for final settlement of the cash leg in central bank money.
- Appia targets a blueprint by 2028, covering asset interoperability, monetary policy implementation, collateral management, cross-border transactions and the legal and regulatory framework.
- Pontes will apply one-off onboarding fees only for its initial launch, with a fully 24/7 service targeted for mid-2028.
- Tokenised traditional assets on public blockchains rose roughly fivefold between March 2025 and March 2026.
The Speech and Its Context
Piero Cipollone, a Member of the Executive Board of the ECB, delivered a speech in Frankfurt am Main on 26 August 2026. The address was given at Deutsche Bundesbank's Symposium on "Future of payments: trends and innovations in Germany and Europe". Cipollone noted that two years earlier, at that same Symposium, he had argued that Europe had a unique opportunity.
Pontes: Connecting DLT to Central Bank Money
Pontes is designed to connect market DLT platforms with the Eurosystem's TARGET Services, enabling final settlement of the cash leg in central bank money. The service is due to launch this year. For its initial launch, Pontes will apply one-off onboarding fees only. The Eurosystem plans to extend Pontes's operating hours by 22.5 hours per business day, with a fully 24/7 service targeted for mid-2028.
Appia: Building the Wider Infrastructure
Appia is the second element of the strategy, described together with Pontes as not separate projects but two parts of one strategy. Its scope covers asset interoperability and standards, monetary policy implementation and collateral management, the future infrastructure for tokenised central bank money, cross-border transactions, the legal and regulatory framework, and the foundation for resilience. The Eurosystem published an Appia roadmap in March, and the project targets a blueprint by 2028.
Trials, Collateral and Market Growth
The Eurosystem carried out more than 50 trials, including a 2024 market trial that involved 64 participants. Those 2024 trials found that central bank money can be used to settle transactions conducted on DLT platforms. The Eurosystem has also started accepting marketable assets issued via DLT-based services at European CSDs as eligible Eurosystem collateral. Separately, tokenised traditional assets on public blockchains saw roughly a fivefold increase between March 2025 and March 2026. European CSDs have announced major initiatives to tokenise securities on a large scale, matching similar initiatives in the United States.
Regulatory Backdrop
The EU market currently comprises 31 central securities depositories, 14 central counterparties, and 323 trading venues. EU co-legislators are discussing a legislative proposal to extend and enhance the DLT Pilot Regime, which would require the industry to establish technical standards that support interoperability between DLT market infrastructures. The European Commission has also launched a consultation to assess whether and how the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation should be fine-tuned.