$XRP Soars on European Central Bank's Pontes Launch

The European Central Bank (ECB) has launched Pontes, a system allowing banks across the EU to settle transactions using digital euros and blockchain technology. ECB President Christine Lagarde called it 'the beginning, not the finish,' with plans for a full digital euro pilot in mid-2027.

Pontes lets banks trade tokenized assets among themselves, settled through blockchain-style tech instead of older banking systems. It doesn't replace how banks operate but provides a faster way to move value between each other.

The system uses a company called Axology's private network built on open-source $XRP Ledger code to tokenize securities and bonds. These tokenized assets can be settled against real central bank euros through Pontes, a setup where the asset and payment move together instead of separately.