ECB Maps Three Architectures for Onchain Central-Bank Money
An ECB presentation compares direct issuance, RTGS bridging and privately issued settlement tokens; the three structures remain design choices, not a new policy decision.
The European Central Bank has set out three possible architectures for bringing central-bank money onto programmable ledgers: direct issuance of tokenised reserves, a bridge from an existing real-time gross-settlement system, or settlement tokens issued by a private intermediary and fully backed by reserves. Executive Board member Isabel Schnabel presented the framework at the Bank of England's Future of Money conference on October 1.
The presentation is a comparison of design choices, not a selection of one model for the euro area. It also does not announce another retail or wholesale product. The Eurosystem's Pontes wholesale settlement service already launched on September 21; the new material places that service within a wider policy question about how central-bank liquidity should operate as more financial assets move to distributed ledgers.
Three routes create three different claims
Under the direct-issuance model, the central bank would operate a programmable platform and issue reserves natively on it. The settlement asset would remain a direct central-bank liability, but the central bank would take on more of the operating role associated with the ledger.
The bridging or synchronisation model leaves reserves in the existing RTGS system. An interoperability layer connects the conventional settlement system to a DLT platform, using a trigger or hash link to coordinate the payment and asset legs. The reserves themselves remain non-tokenised even though the associated market transaction takes place on a programmable network.
The private-intermediary model introduces a different legal claim. A private entity would issue settlement tokens fully backed by reserves held at the central bank. The reserves remain at the central bank, but the token is a private claim rather than a direct claim on the central bank. That distinction affects issuer risk, supervision, redemption and the operational responsibilities carried by the intermediary.
Schnabel's framework therefore separates technical connectivity from the legal nature of the money being used. All three models can connect central-bank liquidity to tokenised markets, but they do not create the same balance-sheet relationship for the holder.
Pontes already combines two settlement paths
The presentation describes Pontes as combining a bridge solution with a Eurosystem DLT option. Market DLT networks can settle through TARGET2 while keeping reserves offchain, or use tokenised central-bank money on the Eurosystem DLT. The service supports tokenised securities, deposits and stablecoins as underlying market assets, while the cash settlement leg remains anchored in central-bank money.
The slides label September 21 as Pontes' launch date and identify 24/7 availability and decentralised programmability as planned enhancements. Those features should not be read as current service guarantees. The ECB's launch material describes a staged implementation through 2028.
The separate Appia project is examining longer-term market structures: a single unified ledger, interconnected networks, or multiple shared ledgers. Appia remains design work rather than a live settlement service.
The choice changes market structure, not only technology
A direct model gives market participants the clearest central-bank claim but requires the central bank to run or govern more programmable infrastructure. A bridge preserves the current RTGS core and can reduce migration risk, but relies on synchronisation between systems. An intermediary model can leave more innovation to private firms while adding an issuer and redemption layer between the user and the central bank.
The design also affects how commercial-bank money fits alongside public money. Schnabel's presentation argues that an onchain system can preserve the existing two-tier structure if wholesale central-bank money remains available for final settlement while banks continue supplying deposits and financial services to customers.
For now, the operational fact is limited: Pontes is live for onboarded wholesale participants, while its broader features are staged. The three-model framework explains the options the ECB is considering around that infrastructure; it does not establish that the Eurosystem has chosen a final architecture or approved a private settlement-token issuer.