The European Central Bank announced a tokenized finance plan to enhance the EU's financial autonomy.

The European Central Bank (ECB) announced a timeline for building a tokenized wholesale finance ecosystem in the eurozone on Wednesday, aiming to ensure the euro's continued status as an international currency. The strategy comprises two core projects: Pontes, a transaction layer based on distributed ledger technology, expected to launch in the third quarter; and Appia, a long-term project planned to continue until 2028, when the Eurosystem will release a blueprint for its tokenized finance ecosystem, covering infrastructure, governance frameworks, and standards development. European policymakers have positioned financial infrastructure as a geopolitical issue, following an analysis by the European Parliament that Europe's reliance on foreign payment networks constitutes a "structural vulnerability" to its financial sovereignty. The plan aims to reduce dependence on non-European and dollar-centric financial systems, enhancing the EU's strategic autonomy and financial resilience. ECB Executive Board member Piero Cipollone stated that Appia aims to build a path from the current financial system to future tokenized markets, based on central bank money.