{
  "id": 8896845,
  "title": "Krypto-Technik: Europas Währungshüter digitalisieren den Wertpapierhandel",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/21/krypto-technik-europas-wahrungshuter-digitalisieren-den",
  "topic": "finance",
  "section": "Finance & Markets",
  "published": "2026-09-21T10:12:24.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Handelsblatt",
    "slug": "handelsblatt",
    "url": "https://www.handelsblatt.com/finanzen/maerkte/boerse-inside/krypto-technik-europas-waehrungshueter-digitalisieren-den-wertpapierhandel/100256180.html"
  },
  "original_language": "de",
  "account": "The European Central Bank (ECB) and national banks across the eurozone are taking a significant step into the digital finance future with the launch of a new platform called \"Pontes.\" This platform allows financial institutions to trade digital securities directly with central bank money, ensuring a secure and efficient process. The ECB also revealed plans to invest in digital assets themselves, testing the technology in practice. Traditionally, the stock market has relied on multiple intermediaries: from exchanges, through clearing houses to safekeeping at specialized banks. Tokenization, the process of recording assets as digital tokens on a modern blockchain technology (Distributed Ledger Technology, DLT), streamlines these steps into a single, automated procedure. This decentralized database technology is best known to the public as the foundation of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin. Now, it is increasingly entering the regulated financial world, cutting down time, reducing costs, and minimizing risks. However, such platforms have lacked a core element - a completely secure and stable means of payment. This is precisely where \"Pontes\" steps in, its name derived from the Latin word for \"bridge.\" The platform acts as a bridge between the blockchain networks and the traditional central bank money, which is considered risk-free. ECB President Christine Lagarde emphasized that the Eurosystem is working towards integrating, innovating, and making the European financial market more resilient in the digital age. According to ECB Directorate Member Piero Cipollone, \"Pontes\" provides the necessary stability and confidence in the tokenized financial world to bring it to the forefront. Major banks have already signed up to use the platform initially, including Deutsche Bank, BayernLB, DZ Bank, KfW, and the European Investment Bank. The ECB also plans to invest a small portion of its \"own funds portfolio\" - used for operational expenses - in tokenized securities to gain firsthand experience of digital securities' entire lifecycle and send a strong message to Europe's financial hub. The digital Euro is revolutionizing money - and creating a lot of buzz.",
  "summary": "Die EZB macht den Wertpapierhandel fit für das Digitalzeitalter. Über ein neues System können Banken digitale Vermögenswerte künftig direkt in risikofreiem Zentralbank-Euro abrechnen.",
  "key_points": [
    "European Central Bank launches Pontes platform for digital securities trading",
    "Platform streamlines stock market processes by tokenizing assets on blockchain",
    "ECB President Lagarde aims to make European financial market more resilient digitally"
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Handelsblatt",
        "title": "EZB setzt auf Krypto-Technik: Europas Währungshüter digitalisieren Wertpapierhandel",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/21/ezb-setzt-auf-krypto-technik-europas-wahrungshuter-digitalisieren",
        "published": "2026-09-21T10:00:08.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}