The Eurosystem launched Pontes on September 21 to settle tokenised asset transactions in central bank money. Deutsche Bank and Santander are among the initial participants, while the ECB is preparing investments from its own funds.
The European Central Bank’s Pontes service has opened a route for settling tokenised asset transactions in central bank money. Launched by the Eurosystem on September 21, it connects transactions on financial institutions’ distributed ledgers with the existing euro payment infrastructure. Its value lies in addressing what happens after an asset is recorded digitally: how the cash changes hands.
The ECB’s launch announcement describes Pontes as a service for wholesale financial transactions. It operates between banks and market infrastructure providers, rather than as a digital euro wallet that consumers can download.
Deutsche Bank and Santander join the initial group
Deutsche Bank, Santander, Société Générale and the European Investment Bank are among the initial participants. Clearstream and SWIAT are listed among the distributed ledger technology (DLT) operators that have completed onboarding. The institutions are ready to use the service; the announcement does not report trading volumes or a first bond purchase for each of them.
“Pontes brings the stability and trust of central bank money to the European tokenised finance ecosystem.”
Piero Cipollone, member of the ECB’s Executive Board
The initial release offers a core set of services. Additional features and longer operating hours will arrive gradually, with full implementation expected in 2028. The launch therefore does not mean that every planned feature is already available.
Cash settlement becomes final in T2
Recording a bond on a blockchain does not automatically complete the cash transfer. Pontes connects market DLT platforms with the Eurosystem’s TARGET Services, coordinating the delivery of an asset with its payment.
Under the official design, participants can use cash tokens on the Eurosystem DLT platform or settle in T2, its real-time gross settlement system. Finality for the cash leg in central bank money is reached when the corresponding transaction completes in T2. A mechanism called Hash-Link supports an all-or-none outcome: the asset and payment are delivered together, or neither is.
Separate from a retail digital euro: The launch of Pontes does not mean a consumer digital euro is now available. It concerns the money and infrastructure eligible financial institutions use to settle transactions in tokenised assets.
The ECB is preparing to invest
The ECB has also started preparations to invest a small portion of its own funds in tokenised securities. A separate investment announcement sets the initial focus on euro-denominated securities issued by euro area public bodies and European supranational institutions. The Executive Board will determine operational details and timing after the preparatory work is complete.
No investment amount has been announced. The own funds portfolio is separate from monetary policy; the aim is to gain practical experience as an investor, from trade execution and settlement to portfolio management. The planned purchases will settle through Pontes.
While products such as ARK’s venture fund on Ethereum bring investments into tokenised form, Pontes addresses the payment infrastructure supporting tokenised markets. The two developments are not parts of the same system. Together, they illustrate why institutional adoption requires reliable settlement arrangements as well as new tokens.
