ECB Launches Appia Project to Shape Tokenized Markets

The European Central Bank (ECB) has published its Appia roadmap, detailing a long-term strategy for developing tokenized wholesale financial markets in Europe, fundamentally based on central bank money. This roadmap centers on two linked initiatives: Appia, the overarching strategic framework, and Pontes, the Eurosystem’s distributed ledger technology (DLT) settlement solution. Pontes is scheduled for launch in the third quarter of 2026, aiming to connect market DLT infrastructures with the Eurosystem’s TARGET Services (like TARGET2, T2S, and TIPS) to enable central bank money settlement for market transactions via interoperable networks. ECB executive board member Piero Cipollone stated that Appia builds a road from the current financial system to future tokenized markets. Alongside the launch, the ECB initiated a public consultation, inviting stakeholders to provide feedback on the roadmap and express interest in contributing to its implementation by April 22. This initiative runs concurrently with the ECB's ongoing work on the digital euro.

(Source：Cointelegraph)