ECB Board Member Schnabel Calls for Central Banks to Go Onchain

Isabel Schnabel, an Executive Board member of the European Central Bank (ECB), has called for central banks to adopt blockchain technology. In a speech at the Jackson Hole Economic Policy Symposium on August 28, Schnabel emphasized that 'to reap the full benefits' of tokenized finance, central banks need to go on-chain too.

Schnabel's proposal focuses on issuing programmable reserves directly on the blockchain, alongside tokenized assets such as bonds and securities. This would enable banks to settle transactions more efficiently by combining payment and ownership transfer in one programmable environment. The goal is to eliminate the current mismatch between tokenized assets and conventional central-bank money.

The ECB has launched Project Pontes, a pilot program scheduled for September 2026 that aims to connect distributed ledgers with the Eurosystem's TARGET services. This will allow participants to settle transactions involving tokenized assets in central-bank money without building separate private settlement assets. However, the project is initially connected to today's infrastructure and will not include smart-contract functionality or continuous 24/7 operations until later.