The ECB says Europe is moving from experimentation toward infrastructure for an integrated tokenised financial market.
European Central Bank Executive Board member Piero Cipollone said Europe is moving from experimentation toward practical infrastructure for tokenised finance. He described distributed-ledger technology as a way to automate markets, support round-the-clock operations and reduce layers of intermediation. Cipollone warned that incompatible private platforms could reproduce the fragmentation of European capital markets, which currently include numerous securities depositories, central counterparties and trading venues. The ECB’s Pontes and Appia projects are intended to support an integrated ecosystem in which tokenised assets can settle using central-bank money.
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The ECB’s approach suggests that Europe wants public settlement infrastructure to shape tokenised markets before isolated platforms become entrenched. Common rails could potentially improve interoperability and liquidity, but technical delivery and coordination across existing institutions will be decisive. The model may also define how private innovation connects to central-bank money without weakening settlement safety. Financial institutions should watch the timelines and participation rules for Pontes and Appia, as well as whether the projects reduce fragmentation in practice.
