ECB Launches Blockchain Bridge for Tokenized Bank Settlement
The European Central Bank (ECB) has launched Pontes, a bridge that connects regulated financial platforms to TARGET Services for settling tokenized trades in central bank money without moving assets onto an ECB blockchain.
Pontes addresses the challenge of exchanging tokenized securities safely by coordinating delivery and payment on an all-or-none basis. It uses Hash-Link to provide the necessary coordination, allowing asset and money transfers to behave like a single exchange.
The bridge grew out of €1.6 billion in tests conducted between May and November 2024, which established that separate ledgers can coordinate all-or-none transactions. The trials also identified operational work behind this result, such as aligning transaction identifiers, time limits, failure procedures, and responsibility when one leg cannot complete.
Pontes is the bridge; Appia is the larger redesign to bring issuance, trading, settlement, and custody closer together. While Pontes links existing infrastructure, Appia examines whether Europe should build a more integrated framework for issuing, trading, holding, and settling tokenized assets.