The European Central Bank said it plans to invest a small share of its reserves in tokenized securities, giving the institution direct exposure to blockchain-based financial markets.
The purchases will be settled through Pontes, a new Eurosystem platform designed to enable wholesale transactions in central bank money. In practice, the system connects the ECB’s payment infrastructure with tokenized finance markets.
The ECB said it wants to test the technology from an investor’s perspective, covering the full process from buying tokenized bonds to settlement and portfolio management. The move also reflects a broader effort by EU central banks to adapt to the growing use of blockchain in finance.
Piero Cipollone, a member of the ECB’s executive board, said Pontes brings the stability and trust of central bank money to Europe’s tokenized finance ecosystem. In his view, that should provide an important advantage as the market scales up.
Initial investments are expected to focus on euro-denominated securities issued by euro-area governments, regional authorities, agencies and European supranational institutions.
The ECB’s executive board will decide the size, timing and operational details of the investments once preparatory work is complete. That decision will depend in part on how issuance of tokenized securities develops, as well as on the broader growth of Europe’s tokenized finance market.
Pontes is the first stage of the Eurosystem’s strategy to bring central bank money into tokenized finance. The ECB plans to add more services and extend operating hours over time, with full implementation expected by 2028.
