ECB, ESMA, and EU Commission launch tokenisation standards group, seek industry members
Key points
- The ECB, ESMA, and the European Commission have jointly launched the European Tokenisation Standards Group (ETSG), with a membership application window closing on 27 November.
- The ETSG's core objective is reducing fragmentation in the European tokenisation sector through the development of common distributed ledger standards, particularly for post-trade operations.
- A proposed amendment within the EU's Market Integration and Supervision Package, introduced in December 2025, requires the creation of industry standards to prevent fragmentation in DLT post-trade, providing legislative backing for the group's work.
- The ETSG's standards delivery target of early 2028 is explicitly aligned with the ECB's Appia project blueprint, whose first building block also focuses on standards and asset interoperability.
- Institutions that want to influence the architecture of European tokenisation infrastructure face a narrow near-term window to secure a seat in the working group before the November deadline passes.
The European Central Bank (ECB), the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), and the European Commission have established the European Tokenisation Standards Group (ETSG), opening membership applications to market participants until 27 November. The group’s mandate is to address the fragmentation that currently characterises the European tokenisation landscape by developing common standards for distributed ledger operations, particularly in post-trade.
The ETSG sits at the intersection of several live EU policy threads. The DLT Pilot Regime, originally initiated by the Commission, received a set of proposed upgrades in December 2025 under the Market Integration and Supervision Package, which is still moving through the legislative process. One amendment within that package specifically requires the creation of industry standards to prevent fragmentation in distributed ledger post-trade operations, giving the ETSG a direct legislative hook even before those changes are enacted.
The ECB’s own infrastructure ambitions add a second pull on the group’s timeline. The central bank has already launched its Pontes distributed ledger settlement solution and is developing the more expansive Appia project, whose first building block centres on standards and asset interoperability. The ETSG is targeting delivery of its standards by early 2028, aligned with the Appia blueprint’s expected completion the same year. That date sets a practical deadline for industry participants deciding whether and how to engage.