ECB Advances DLT Settlement Initiatives to Modernize Payment Systems
The European Central Bank is accelerating its exploration of distributed ledger technology for financial settlements, approving two strategic projects aimed at integrating DLT with existing eurozone infrastructure. Pontes, the near-term solution, will bridge DLT platforms with TARGET services by 2026, while Appia represents a more ambitious framework for global DLT-based operations.
This initiative reflects growing institutional recognition of blockchain's potential to reduce settlement risks and operational costs. The ECB's 2024 wholesale CBDC experiments demonstrated measurable efficiency gains, reinforcing the case for DLT adoption among central banks worldwide.