ECB Connects Tokenized Assets to Central Bank Money with New Platform

The European Central Bank has launched Pontes, a new platform that connects tokenized assets to central bank money. This move is expected to accelerate institutional tokenization by bridging DLT markets with TARGET, the Eurosystem's payment infrastructure.

The ECB plans to expand Pontes and use it as a blueprint for an integrated European tokenized financial system by 2028, as part of its Appia initiative.

Pontes is designed to provide legal certainty required by institutional markets, allowing banks to settle through tokenized cash on the Eurosystem DLT platform or through T2, its real-time gross settlement system.