ECB Unveils Pontes Infrastructure for Tokenized Transactions
The European Central Bank (ECB) has launched Pontes, a new infrastructure that connects distributed-ledger platforms to TARGET Services, allowing tokenized wholesale transactions to settle in central-bank money.
Pontes is designed for financial institutions and market infrastructure, not consumers, and is separate from the proposed retail digital euro. The system's purpose is to allow transactions involving tokenized assets to settle in central-bank money rather than relying entirely on privately issued settlement assets.
The ECB describes Pontes as a DLT solution linking market platforms with TARGET Services for the settlement of wholesale transactions. It aims to bring tokenized markets into existing infrastructure, allowing stages such as issuance, trading, settlement, custody, and servicing to take place within connected digital infrastructure.
Pontes is not a replacement for central-bank money but rather a bridge between DLT platforms and TARGET Services, providing interoperability and allowing wholesale transactions conducted on new market infrastructure to settle against Eurosystem central-bank money.