BNP Paribas and ABN AMRO join CBMT sandbox as deposit token network expands across Europe
Key points
- BNP Paribas and ABN AMRO have joined the CBMT sandbox, expanding a network previously composed mainly of German banks and two German industrial corporates.
- In May, DZ Bank's Claus George described CBMT as a potential tokenised extension of SEPA capable of handling multiple currencies, with French banks already having shown interest.
- BaFin classified CBMT tokens as deposits rather than e-money tokens, exempting German participants from MiCA; banks in other jurisdictions must seek equivalent rulings from their own national supervisors.
- The CBMT Bridge, built on UDPN messaging technology, connects individual bank systems to multiple industry distributed-ledger networks and handles interbank settlement without requiring a shared token.
- CBMT's organisers have held discussions with banks in Singapore, the US, and the UK, suggesting the network's geographic ambitions extend well beyond the EU.
BNP Paribas, the Eurozone’s largest bank by assets, and Dutch lender ABN AMRO have joined the Commercial Bank Money Token (CBMT) sandbox, broadening a deposit token initiative that has until now been predominantly German in character. Existing participants include Commerzbank, DZ Bank, Helaba, and UniCredit on the banking side, alongside industrial corporates Siemens and Evonik. The two additions mark a visible step toward the pan-European scope that CBMT’s organisers have long stated as their ambition.
The regulatory path is not uniform. Because no single European framework governs deposit tokens, each bank must obtain clearance from its own national supervisor before participating. Germany’s BaFin enabled domestic banks by classifying CBMT tokens as deposits rather than e-money, which means the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation does not apply to those issuances. French and other non-German banks will need equivalent sign-off from their own authorities, and CBMT’s organisers have also held exploratory conversations with institutions in Singapore, the United States, and the United Kingdom.
Architecturally, CBMT does not operate as a shared token pool. Each participating bank issues its own deposit token, either from an existing tokenised deposit infrastructure or via a core banking module that CBMT can supply. Interoperability is delivered through the CBMT Bridge, which uses messaging technology from UDPN to connect bank systems to multiple distributed-ledger networks and manage interbank settlement. Tokens are issued natively onto the corporate networks where assets reside, giving corporate treasurers an instrument that combines deposit-like credit standing with programmable payment logic.