The European Central Bank (ECB) is planning to settle distributed ledger technology (DLT) transactions using central bank money, announcing a long- and short-term initiative.
The short-term track, Pontes, is expected to have a pilot launch in Q3 2026. Appia, a potential longer-term solution, has also been planned as a future project.
Pontes will provide a single solution to the Eurosystem market, linking DLT platforms and TARGET services to settle transactions in central bank money.
In the longer term, the Appia initiative aims to create an integrated ecosystem enabling global operations.
The initiatives follow the ECB’s 2024 exploratory work on DLT, which included the settlement of close to €1.6 billion in central bank money.
In its report on the work’s findings, Piero Cipollone, a member of the ECB’s executive board, reported, “the high level of interest in this initiative, with a total of 64 eligible participants across nine jurisdictions, confirmed the market interest in DLT and the use of tokens. Some of the financial stakeholders that took part have firm plans to develop and use DLT in wholesale financial markets.”
The announcement follows the European Securities and Markets Association’s (ESMA) proposal to make its DLT pilot regime permanent, despite minimal industry participation to date. In its comments on the scheme, the association highlighted the lack of central bank money availability as a limiting factor for DLT adoption in Europe.
READ MORE: ESMA’s DLT regime could go permanent, despite low takeup
Market contact groups for both projects will be launched as the systems are developed. The ECB noted that potential enhancements to operational, legal and technical standards around TARGET Services will be considered during the pilot scheme, alongside further DLT-related trials.
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