ECB Says Stablecoins and Tokenized Deposits Need Central Bank Money
The post ECB Says Stablecoins and Tokenized Deposits Need Central Bank Money appeared on BitcoinEthereumNews.com.
Tokenized deposits and stablecoins need tokenized central bank money as a public settlement anchor if Europe’s tokenized financial markets are to scale, Piero Cipollone, a member of the European Central Bank’s Executive Board, said on Monday. Cipollone pointed to Pontes, the Eurosystem’s distributed ledger technology (DLT) settlement initiative, which is designed to connect market DLT platforms with the Eurosystem’s TARGET Services and provide settlement in central bank money. “Without tokenised central bank money, a seller of a tokenised security may receive payment in an asset they are not comfortable holding – one exposed to price volatility or credit risk – which limits the market’s ability to scale,” Cipollone said in a speech at the House of the Euro in Brussels on Monday. The ECB said Pontes is due for an initial launch in the third quarter of 2026, allowing market participants to settle DLT-based transactions in central bank money. The comments build on the ECB’s broader Appia initiative, published on March 11, which is intended to produce a blueprint for a future European tokenized financial ecosystem by 2028. Related: ECB opens digital euro work on ATMs and payment terminals Europe’s tokenized markets need legal clarity Beyond settlement in central bank money, Cipollone said Europe also needs closer public-private cooperation and a legal framework that matches the technology. One of Appia’s building blocks serves as an interoperability standard for assets, ensuring that tokenized assets can be transferred across different DLT platforms via a compatible data format and smart contract standards. High-level timeline for Pontes and Appia. Source: ECB Cipollone urged market infrastructure operators, banks, custodians and technology providers to explore and submit feedback related to the Appia roadmap, seeking to foster more public-private partnerships. Related: Sweden’s H100 eyes Europe’s No. 2 Bitcoin treasury with 3,500 BTC deal Cipollone also said Europe…
Filed under: News - @ March 24, 2026 2:27 pm