The European Central Bank releases the Appia roadmap to advance tokenized financial markets based on central bank money.

ChainCatcher news, the European Central Bank released the Appia roadmap on Wednesday, outlining a long-term development plan for a tokenized wholesale financial market based on central bank money. The roadmap revolves around two related initiatives: Pontes, which is the euro system's distributed ledger technology settlement solution, and Appia, which serves as the overall strategic framework for building the future tokenized financial ecosystem. The Pontes initiative is scheduled to launch in the third quarter of 2026.

Piero Cipollone, a member of the Executive Board of the European Central Bank, stated that Appia aims to build a bridge from the current financial system to the future tokenized market, with central bank money as a solid foundation. The Pontes initiative plans to connect the market's distributed ledger infrastructure with the euro system's TARGET services by the end of the third quarter of 2026. TARGET services are the payment and settlement systems operated by the euro system, including the large-value payment system TARGET2, the securities settlement system T2S, and the instant payment system TIPS. The European Central Bank is simultaneously opening a public consultation, inviting participants from both the public and private sectors to provide feedback on the roadmap or submit proposals for participation in its implementation. The deadline for feedback is April 22.