Eurosystem reveals Appia roadmap
12 March 2026 Europe
Image: olrat/stock.adobe.com
The Eurosystem — the monetary authority of the euro area, comprising the European Central Bank (ECB) and national central banks of EU Member States — has published the roadmap for Appia, an initiative designed to shape the development of a European tokenised financial ecosystem.
In 2024, the authority tested distributed ledger technology (DLT)-settlement ideas with market participants, with the ECB’s Governing Council approving plans for a strategy based on this work, resulting in two solutions.
Pontes is its short-term DLT solution, set to launch in Q3 2026, enabling central bank money settlement for DLT-based transactions.
Appia, which has a broader and longer-term perspective, aims to explore the way in which a wholesale financial ecosystem based on both tokenisation and DLT could be designed.
It will be developed in coordination with market participants, public sector bodies, and academia, with stakeholders invited to provide feedback and expressions of interest in contributing to analytical and practical work.
Through Appia, the Eurosystem intends to ensure that monetary policy implementation remains effective by preserving the role of central bank money as the anchor of the monetary system.
The initiative is intended to promote a more integrated, competitive, and innovative payments and securities environment within Europe, with the aim of maintaining the euro’s relevance as an international currency and strengthening Europe’s autonomy.
It will also look into different configurations for DLT networks to potentially serve as basic infrastructure for wholesale central bank money settlement.
The Eurosystem says the analysis conducted will “consider technological, market-driven, and broader economic and geopolitical factors, including the trade-offs between single shared networks and multiple interconnected networks”.
Ensuring European governance and common standards will also be a key objective.
Commenting on the roadmap, Piero Cipollone, member of the ECB’s Executive Board, says: “With Appia, we are building a road from today’s financial system to tomorrow’s tokenised markets, firmly grounded in central bank money.”
In 2024, the authority tested distributed ledger technology (DLT)-settlement ideas with market participants, with the ECB’s Governing Council approving plans for a strategy based on this work, resulting in two solutions.
Pontes is its short-term DLT solution, set to launch in Q3 2026, enabling central bank money settlement for DLT-based transactions.
Appia, which has a broader and longer-term perspective, aims to explore the way in which a wholesale financial ecosystem based on both tokenisation and DLT could be designed.
It will be developed in coordination with market participants, public sector bodies, and academia, with stakeholders invited to provide feedback and expressions of interest in contributing to analytical and practical work.
Through Appia, the Eurosystem intends to ensure that monetary policy implementation remains effective by preserving the role of central bank money as the anchor of the monetary system.
The initiative is intended to promote a more integrated, competitive, and innovative payments and securities environment within Europe, with the aim of maintaining the euro’s relevance as an international currency and strengthening Europe’s autonomy.
It will also look into different configurations for DLT networks to potentially serve as basic infrastructure for wholesale central bank money settlement.
The Eurosystem says the analysis conducted will “consider technological, market-driven, and broader economic and geopolitical factors, including the trade-offs between single shared networks and multiple interconnected networks”.
Ensuring European governance and common standards will also be a key objective.
Commenting on the roadmap, Piero Cipollone, member of the ECB’s Executive Board, says: “With Appia, we are building a road from today’s financial system to tomorrow’s tokenised markets, firmly grounded in central bank money.”
NO FEE, NO RISK
100% ON RETURNS If you invest in only one digital assets news source this year, make sure it is your free subscription to The Digital Assets Edge
100% ON RETURNS If you invest in only one digital assets news source this year, make sure it is your free subscription to The Digital Assets Edge
