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- The European Central Bank plans to invest a small portion of its own funds in tokenized securities to build distributed ledger technology experience.
- Initial purchases will focus on euro-denominated public-sector and European supranational securities using the Pontes settlement service, though no start date is set.
- The investments will use the ECB's own funds portfolio, which had a market value of €23.1 billion at the end of 2025.
The European Central Bank plans to invest a small portion of its own funds in tokenized securities as it builds experience with distributed ledger technology. Initial purchases will focus on euro-denominated public-sector and European supranational securities, but the ECB has not set a start date.
The planned transactions are expected to use Pontes, the Eurosystem’s settlement service for tokenized wholesale assets in central bank money.
ECB Begins Preparatory Work
The ECB said on Sept. 21 that it had started preparatory work for direct investments in tokenized securities. The initiative is designed to give the central bank practical experience with trading, settlement, systems and portfolio-management processes using DLT infrastructure.
Eligible securities are expected to include debt issued by euro area central governments, regional governments, agencies, and European supranational institutions. The ECB’s Executive Board will decide the operational details and timing once the preparatory phase is complete.
Purchases Will Use ECB Own Funds
The planned investments will come from the ECB’s own funds portfolio, not from its monetary-policy asset purchase programs. The portfolio helps generate income for ECB operating expenses outside banking supervision. It mainly consists of paid-up capital, the general reserve and funds set aside for financial risks.
The portfolio had a market value of €23.1 billion at the end of 2025. The ECB has not disclosed how much it intends to allocate to tokenized securities, describing the planned exposure only as a small portion of its own funds.
Pontes Will Support Tokenized Settlement
The announcement came alongside the launch of Pontes, which is designed to support settlement of wholesale tokenized-asset transactions in central bank money. The Eurosystem plans to expand Pontes in stages, adding functionality and longer operating hours over time. Broader implementation is targeted for 2028. ECB President Christine Lagarde said the project forms part of efforts to modernize European financial infrastructure.
“The Eurosystem is working to enable a more integrated, innovative and resilient European financial market in the digital age.”
ECB Expands Tokenized Finance Work
Pontes forms part of the Eurosystem’s broader tokenized-finance strategy. The ECB is also developing Appia, which is intended to support a wider European tokenized financial ecosystem.
No securities have yet been purchased under the own-funds initiative. The ECB has also not announced an investment amount or launch date.
