ECB sets 21 September go-live date for Project Pontes tokenised settlement
Key points
- Project Pontes is scheduled to go live on 21 September, giving institutions their first access to production settlement in tokenised central bank money.
- Two settlement models are available: on-chain cash tokens held on the Eurosystem's own DLT, and a trigger model that routes payment through T2 RTGS.
- Both models settle in central bank money, explicitly excluding commercial bank money and stablecoins from the settlement layer.
- Institutions aiming for the initial go-live must register with their national central bank by 7 August; testing is beginning in early August.
- The dual-model architecture suggests the ECB is accommodating institutions not yet ready for full on-chain settlement while keeping the cash-token path open for those that are.
The European Central Bank has targeted 21 September as the production launch date for Project Pontes, a system that will allow institutions to settle distributed-ledger-technology (DLT)-based transactions in central bank money rather than commercial bank money or stablecoins.
Pontes offers two distinct settlement paths. The first uses cash tokens, which are tokenised representations of central bank money residing on the Eurosystem’s own DLT infrastructure. The second is a trigger model, where a DLT instruction initiates a conventional payment through the TARGET real-time gross settlement system (T2 RTGS). Both routes deliver settlement finality in central bank money, preserving the credit-risk profile that institutions and regulators prize above all.
Institutions wishing to participate in the initial cohort face near-term deadlines. Testing begins in early August, and any institution seeking first-mover access to the production environment must register with its national central bank by 7 August. Demonstrating adequate testing to that national central bank is a prerequisite for production access. Institutions that miss the initial window can join subsequent cohorts without losing permanent access to the system.