ECB maps out two-track plan for digital euro and tokenised finance

The European Central Bank wants euros on the blockchain. It is taking two separate routes to get them there. The ECB plans to introduce a digital euro to support secure, efficient and integrated digital payments and tokenised finance across Europe. The strategy splits into a retail digital euro for everyday users and a wholesale tokenised finance track for banks and market infrastructure. Pontes: the wholesale track arrives first The centrepiece of the near-term plan is Pontes, a platform set to launch on September 21, 2026. Its job is to settle tokenised asset transactions in central bank money. Pontes links the ECB’s existing TARGET Services to various distributed ledger technology (DLT) platforms, the shared databases that underpin blockchain-based assets. A bank trading a tokenised bond on a blockchain could settle the cash leg in actual central bank money, without relying on a private stand-in for the euro. ECB President Christine Lagarde framed the platform in notably direct terms. “Digital euro made available for banks.” Initial onboarding of 13 market participants, including Deutsche Bank and Santander, is completed by the launch date. The ECB is also putting its own balanc...