The Eurosystem launched Pontes on September 21, 2026, a new settlement service letting wholesale transactions in tokenized assets settle in central bank money, connecting blockchain-based financial markets with the euro area’s existing payment infrastructure.
Pontes is the first initiative under the Eurosystem’s strategy to make central bank money available for tokenized financial markets, connecting market distributed ledger technology (DLT) platforms with TARGET Services and consolidating three previously explored interoperability solutions into one offering.
ECB President Christine Lagarde said the Eurosystem is working to enable a more integrated, innovative, and resilient European financial market in the digital age, adding the central bank will continue progressing in close collaboration with the market. Lagarde highlighted the launch in an official X post:
The launch follows the Eurosystem’s 2024 DLT settlement experiments, which processed more than 200 transactions worth approximately €1.59 billion and involved 64 participants across nine jurisdictions.
Which Banks Joined Pontes at Launch
Pontes provides the cash leg of wholesale DLT-based transactions in central bank money, connecting market DLT platforms with TARGET Services so participants can settle tokenized assets using central bank money for the cash side, according to the ECB’s own announcement.
The launch includes major commercial banks Deutsche Bank, Santander, Société Générale, and DZ Bank, alongside regional players BayernLB, ABANCA, and Cecabank, plus the European Investment Bank and four DLT operators, including Clearstream and XRPL-based Axiology.
| Pontes at Launch | Details |
| Purpose | Settle wholesale tokenized-asset transactions in central bank money |
| Connected infrastructure | TARGET Services |
| Initial participants | 13 market participants |
| DLT operators | 4 |
| Operating hours at launch | 8:00 to 16:00 CET on business days |
Table 1. Key details of the Pontes launch.
Clearstream ran end-to-end tests beginning August 17, 2026 to validate the bridge before institutions connected, with additional participants expected to join progressively.
Why Central Bank Money Matters for Tokenized Assets
Tokenizing an asset doesn’t by itself solve how the cash payment should settle, since a buyer and seller still need a settlement asset they trust. Pontes addresses that by providing access to central bank money for eligible DLT transactions, an alternative to privately issued stablecoins covered in more depth in USDC’s no-hype breakdown, since central bank money carries none of the credit and liquidity risk tied to private settlement assets.
How Pontes Settles a Transaction
Participants can settle using cash tokens on the Eurosystem’s own DLT platform, or by completing the cash leg in T2, its real-time gross settlement system, with finality achieved once the T2 transaction completes, according to the ECB’s Pontes documentation.
Delivery-versus-payment transactions use the Hash-Link protocol to synchronize settlement across platforms, a design worth understanding alongside the wider regulatory momentum in how the Clarity Act could affect altcoins, DeFi, and tokenized assets elsewhere.
This gives participants settlement finality in central bank money without requiring the tokenized asset market to operate entirely within Eurosystem infrastructure, functioning as an interoperability layer between DLT markets and established European payment infrastructure.
Pontes Is the Short-Term Half of a Larger Strategy
Pontes is not the Eurosystem’s entire tokenization strategy. The ECB is also developing Appia, a longer-term initiative focused on the architecture, standards, and governance of a European tokenized financial ecosystem, having selected 61 financial market stakeholders and public-sector institutions for the Appia contact group in August 2026.
The ECB plans for Appia to produce a blueprint for the future ecosystem by 2028, while Pontes provides an operational bridge in the meantime.
The Eurosystem is also preparing to invest a small portion of its own funds in tokenized securities, initially focusing on euro-denominated securities issued by euro area public-sector entities and European supranational institutions, with those transactions expected to settle through Pontes.
What Comes Next for Pontes
Pontes will initially operate with its first group of market participants and DLT operators while additional institutions connect to the service. By mid-2028, the ECB expects to offer a 24/7 service with greater programmability, resilience, and multi-currency capabilities, alongside the broader Appia programme.
What this means for you: Pontes does not create a retail digital euro or a new cryptocurrency. It is wholesale financial infrastructure designed to let tokenized assets settle using central bank money. If adoption grows, it could provide European financial institutions with a direct bridge between blockchain-based markets and established euro payment infrastructure.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial or investment advice. Tokenized securities and DLT-based financial infrastructure involve regulatory, technical, liquidity, custody, and market risks.
