ECB's Schnabel says central bank money 'should move to blockchain'
ECB Executive Board member Isabel Schnabel stated that central bank money "must move onto the blockchain." She argued that stablecoins lack the independent ability to scale liquidity during financial stress—a gap only a central bank can fill. Her proposed solution involves tokenization, which she says can make transactions faster, safer, and more programmable, but only if the safest asset (central bank money) is on the same "rails" as other tokenized assets.
This marks a notable shift for the Eurosystem, which had previously viewed Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) mainly as a tool for regulating stablecoins and crypto, not as infrastructure to adopt directly.
The first step is Project Pontes, launching in September. It will initially synchronize the ECB’s existing TARGET services with private DLT platforms. Eventually, it aims to enable settlement finality on a Eurosystem-managed DLT platform with smart contract functionality and 24/7 operation.
The long-term strategy is Project Appia, tasked with developing the architecture, standards, and legal framework for a genuine European tokenized asset market by 2028. Trials have already processed around €1.6 billion, and since March 2026, the ECB accepts DLT-based assets as collateral.
While not directly impacting Bitcoin's price, these developments signal that a major G7 central bank is preparing to settle transactions on-chain, lending legitimacy to the underlying infrastructure of crypto markets. The ECB's move to avoid "disintermediation" by private tokenization shows that debates in central bank boardrooms are now aligning with discussions long followed in the crypto space.
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