ECB Launches Pontes to Settle Tokenised Assets in Central Bank Money

The European Central Bank and the euro area’s national central banks on Monday launched Pontes, a distributed ledger technology solution that lets wholesale transactions in tokenised assets settle in central bank money.

The launch marks the first step in the Eurosystem’s programme to make central bank money fit for a tokenised future, with full implementation expected by 2028.

How Pontes Works Pontes connects market DLT platforms to the Eurosystem’s TARGET Services so tokenised trades can settle in the safest form of money.

It uses a dual settlement model: participants can settle on the Eurosystem DLT platform with cash tokens, or in T2, the real-time gross settlement system.