ECB Executive Calls for Blockchain-Based Reserve Deposits

European Central Bank Executive Board member Isabel Schnabel has called for central banks to move their reserve deposits onto blockchain, aiming to overhaul tools used in monetary policy. In a speech at the Jackson Hole Economic Policy Symposium, she emphasized that placing central bank money on distributed ledgers would allow smart contract-based automated execution into monetary policy.

Schnabel noted that this concept is limited to wholesale finance and is separate from the retail digital euro initiative. It does not create a crypto asset that investors can purchase.

The ECB has launched 'Pontes', a pilot project connecting distributed ledger infrastructure with the existing TARGET services, which will enable tokenized asset transactions to be settled in central bank money. The initial phase will assess connection reliability and demand from financial institutions.