The Eurosystem launched Pontes on Monday, giving banks a live route to settle tokenized assets in central-bank money. The ECB simultaneously began preparations to invest a portion of its own funds in tokenized securities through the system, focusing initially on euro-denominated securities issued by euro-area governments, agencies and supranational institutions. Deutsche Bank, Santander, Société Générale and the European Investment Bank are among the first participants, alongside DLT operators including Clearstream and Cashlink. The ECB’s own funds stood at 23.1 billion euros at the end of 2025, with government debt accounting for 73 percent of the portfolio. Full implementation of Pontes is targeted for 2028, while a retail digital euro pilot is scheduled for the second half of 2027.
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