The European Central Bank launched Pontes on September 21, a service that lets banks and investors settle blockchain-based transactions using euros backed by the ECB, while the central bank adapts its payment system to blockchain-based finance.

Deutsche Bank, Santander, and Clearstream are among the first users to complete onboarding.

The ECB said the platform will initially run from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Central European Time on business days before expanding services.

The ECB also said it will invest a tiny part of its 23 billion euros (US$26.4 billion) own funds in blockchain-based, highly rated euro-denominated debt issued by public institutions.

It joins similar work by the Swiss National Bank and the Bank of England, while the ECB continues work on a digital euro it aims to launch in 2029.

A recent example of that asset class is a euro digital bond from the European Investment Bank, the European Union’s lending arm, which issued its first such bond on a public blockchain in 2021.

🔗 Source: Reuters

Recent European Central Bank developments