ECB starts prep to buy tokenized securities as Pontes settles DLT trades in central bank money
By Crypto Wire
September 21, 2026
The European Central Bank said on September 21 that it has started preparatory work to invest a small portion of its own funds in tokenized securities, in a release published alongside the launch of Pontes — the Eurosystem rail that settles wholesale tokenized-asset trades in central bank money. The Crypto Times wrap of the announcement says the ECB has not disclosed how much it will invest or when the first purchase will settle.
Initial ECB investments are expected to focus on euro-denominated securities issued by euro area central governments, regional governments, agencies, and European supranational institutions. The purchases would come from the ECB’s own-funds portfolio — described as a non-monetary-policy book that helps fund operating expenses — and are separate from the bank’s monetary-policy operations.
Pontes connects distributed-ledger market platforms to TARGET Services, the Eurosystem’s existing euro payment and securities settlement stack. That link lets a tokenized asset traded on a DLT venue be paid in central bank money rather than commercial-bank deposits or privately issued settlement tokens. Executive Board member Piero Cipollone said Pontes “brings the stability and trust of central bank money to the European tokenised finance ecosystem.”
The Eurosystem said Pontes will start with a core service set, then add enhanced features and longer operating hours over time, with full implementation expected by 2028. The project builds on 2024 DLT settlement tests in which public and private participants said access to a risk-free settlement asset was crucial for wider adoption.
Thirteen market participants completed onboarding and can use Pontes immediately: ABANCA, BayernLB, Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations, Cecabank, Deutsche Bank, DekaBank, DZ Bank, the European Investment Bank, KfW, Memo Bank, NRW.BANK, Santander, and Société Générale. The Deutsche Bundesbank also onboarded as a market participant. Four DLT platform operators are connected at launch: Axiology, Cashlink, Clearstream, and SWIAT, with more participants expected in coming months.
Pontes is the first track under the Eurosystem’s tokenized-finance strategy. A second track, Appia, announced in March 2026 with Danmarks Nationalbank and other stakeholders, aims for a DLT-based European financial-ecosystem blueprint by 2028. Both are wholesale projects for banks and market infrastructures. They are separate from the retail digital euro, which still requires EU legislation that has not been adopted.
For Orange County RWA desks, Pontes is a settlement story more than an NFT floor story. Courtyard’s vaulted Pokémon packs and CryptoSlam’s soft weekly NFT sales print near $37.54 million measure collector secondary liquidity. ECB own-funds prep and central-bank-money settlement measure whether European public debt and agency paper can clear on DLT without substituting a private token for the risk-free euro cash leg.
That distinction also matters beside U.S. tokenized-stock experiments already on the calendar, including the SEC’s five-year innovation exemption for Tokenized Securities Venues. Pontes is Eurosystem wholesale infrastructure with named bank and platform onboardings; it is not a permissionless NFT mint and it does not invent a retail shopping cart for tokenized bonds tomorrow.
The ECB said its Executive Board will set operational details and timing once preparatory work is complete, taking into account European tokenized-issuance developments. Until size, venue list, and first settlement date are published, desks should treat Monday’s dual announcement as rail-plus-intent, not as a confirmed purchase ticket.
Primary sourcing for the own-funds prep, Pontes launch, participant roster, and 2028 roadmap is the September 21 Crypto Times report of the ECB and Eurosystem releases. Readers should verify details against official ECB communications before treating secondary wrap figures as final.
Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational and educational purposes only. It does not constitute financial, investment, legal, or trading advice. The NFT market is highly volatile, and past performance is not indicative of future results. Readers should conduct their own research and consult qualified professionals before making any decisions related to digital assets. The cover image for this article may have been created using artificial intelligence (AI).
