Banque de France and Euroclear have launched Pythagore, a joint project for the tokenisation of Negotiable European Commercial Paper (NEU CP).
The project aims to develop a wholesale Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) with TARGET services. A pilot phase, expected to begin in late 2026, will roll out in tandem with the start of European Central Bank’s distributed ledger technology (DLT) solution, Pontes.
The ECB recently named the participants of the Pontes group, which includes DLT platform operators, market participants and central banks such as BNP Paribas, Deutsche Bank, Euronext and Goldman Sachs. Euroclear and Banque de France are also members.
Earlier this year, Banque de France and Euroclear partnered to issue France’s first digitally native note.
READ MORE: France issues first digitally native note
The NEU CP market, with €310 billion outstanding, is the latest short-term debt market in the euro area. The companies believe that tokenising this market will improve its operational and administrative efficiency while strengthening transparency and security.
Emmanuelle Assouan, director general for financial stability and operations at Banque de France, commented, “The NEU CP market is the largest and already the most transparent short-term debt market in the euro area. Banque de France is mobilised to further strengthen its attractiveness at European level alongside issuers, investors and financial intermediaries, particularly with a view to creating a Saving and Investment Union.”
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