Central Banks Urged to Bring Money Onto Blockchain Platforms

At the Jackson Hole Economic Policy Symposium, European Central Bank Executive Board Member Isabel Schnabel called for central banks to bring their money onto blockchain platforms. Schnabel argued that distributed ledger technology can improve settlement processes, collateral management, and monetary policy operations.

Schnabel emphasized that central bank reserves are superior to stablecoins as a settlement asset because they provide liquidity during periods of financial stress. Stablecoins could expand digital payment options but should be viewed as complements to central bank money rather than replacements.

The ECB is exploring this development through two projects, Appia and Pontes, which examine different architectures for integrating tokenized assets and central bank money. Schnabel stressed the importance of balancing interoperability, resilience, governance, and innovation while limiting fragmentation between traditional and tokenized financial systems.