European Central Bank Launches Tokenized Asset Settlement Platform Pontes

The European Central Bank (ECB) said on Monday, September 21, 2026, that it had launched a new system called Pontes to settle transactions in tokenized assets between banks and financial institutions. The platform connects distributed ledger technology (DLT) networks to the ECB's payment infrastructure, allowing banks to settle blockchain based transactions using central bank money rather than private assets such as stablecoins. The ECB said Pontes is part of Europe's plan to align the traditional financial system with new technologies, but stressed it does not amount to a public digital euro for citizens; for now, the focus is limited to wholesale markets and interbank transactions.