ECB unveils Appia roadmap to link tokenized markets with central bank money

The European Central Bank released its Appia roadmap for building tokenized wholesale markets anchored in central bank money, set a target to launch Pontes in the third quarter of 2026, and opened a consultation that closes April 22.

Appia lays out the strategic plan for a future tokenized financial ecosystem in Europe. Pontes, a core part of that plan, is the Eurosystem’s distributed ledger technology platform designed to enable settlement in central bank money across interoperable networks. The ECB indicated Pontes is intended to go live by the end of that quarter.

Pontes is intended to connect market DLT infrastructures with the Eurosystem’s TARGET Services, the payment and settlement systems for euro transactions. TARGET Services include TARGET2 for large-value payments, T2S for securities settlement, and TIPS for instant payments.

By anchoring settlement in central bank money, the ECB aims to reduce counterparty risk in tokenized transactions and to support industry adoption by linking DLT platforms to existing market systems. The roadmap sets phased work to ensure interoperability between DLT platforms and current infrastructures.

“With Appia, we are building a road from today’s financial system to tomorrow’s tokenized markets, firmly grounded in central bank money,” according to Executive Board member Piero Cipollone.

The consultation invites public and private stakeholders to comment on the roadmap and to express interest in contributing to implementation. One part gathers feedback on specific chapters and may be published with the respondent’s name. A second part accepts proposals to work on Appia’s building blocks, with responses treated confidentially. Submissions must be made through the ECB’s online survey by April 22.

The Eurosystem, which includes the ECB and the national central banks of euro area countries, operates TARGET Services and will host Pontes as its DLT solution, enabling tokenized assets and transactions to settle in central bank money.

The release of the roadmap comes as work on a potential digital euro continues. The ECB plans to begin selecting payment service providers in 2026, with a 12-month pilot expected to start in the second half of 2027.