Christine Lagarde will leave the European Central Bank presidency on February 7, 2027, while the Eurosystem continues assessing infrastructure choices for Europe’s tokenized financial markets. The departure was announced on October 29, one day after the Eurosystem released consultation findings for Appia. Appia seeks to integrate wholesale tokenized finance, in which distributed ledgers carry newly issued assets or representations of assets. The consultation report draws on 127 responses and expresses no Eurosystem preference for an architecture before a blueprint due by 2028.

Appia’s central design question concerns where central bank money should be available across distributed ledger technology, or DLT, platforms for asset payments and transaction completion. Respondents said a single settlement network could combine liquidity, standardize processes and simplify coordination, reducing fragmentation and duplicate investment. However, respondents warned that concentrating activity in systemically important infrastructure could create technology or vendor dependence and weaken incentives for innovation. Multiple networks can support different business models and reduce reliance on a single infrastructure. However, respondents warned that networks without enforceable interoperability standards could create separate pools of liquidity, collateral, identity information and compliance processes. Banks could still face fragmented liquidity if cash and collateral cannot move efficiently between competing platforms.

Many respondents proposed making central bank money available through a limited set of eligible networks governed by transparent entry criteria and common standards. The report says further assessment must establish whether settlement across multiple networks can preserve Eurosystem control over central bank money. The eligible-network approach remains under consideration and does not give operators an announced entitlement to connect. Respondents requested objective admission requirements that do not discriminate, alongside a clear boundary between shared infrastructure and commercial services. Respondents generally opposed including customer-facing issuance, trading, custody and wallets in the shared utility because providers should compete in those activities. An operator selling services in competition with the operator’s infrastructure users could compromise the network’s neutrality.

The report’s presentation of respondents’ views emphasizes central bank control, neutrality and open access more than ownership. Both Eurosystem-operated and market-operated networks would require safeguards for public control of central bank money and against discriminatory access, despite different trade-offs. An April position from the International Capital Market Association generally favored interoperable networks with harmonized standards over one Eurosystem-operated network, citing competition, concentration risk and market-driven innovation. That submission represented part of ICMA’s DLT Bonds Working Group and preceded the October findings.

Banks need settlement balances and collateral that remain usable across venues, whether resources are concentrated on one network or move reliably between several platforms. The report identifies central bank participation in routing liquidity and mobilizing collateral as making interoperability an operational necessity. Respondents considered tokenized deposits and euro-denominated stablecoins possible complements to central bank money in a two-tier system, rather than equivalent forms of money. ECB Executive Board member Piero Cipollone said on October 29 that the Eurosystem has accepted marketable assets issued through DLT-based central securities depositories since March 30. Eligibility for assets outside the settlement systems currently accepted, including the applicable criteria, remains under assessment.

Pontes began operating on September 21 with an initial set of core services and phased onboarding. Pontes links market DLT platforms to the Eurosystem’s TARGET Services, enabling wholesale tokenized-asset transactions to settle using central bank money. Cipollone outlined targets on October 29 for substantially extended operating hours by mid-2027 and uninterrupted availability throughout 2028. Immediate settlement finality on the Eurosystem’s DLT platform is planned for as early as 2027. Appia instead aims to deliver a broader ecosystem blueprint by 2028, setting out findings, recommendations and principles. Cipollone said the existing T2S securities settlement platform would remain in operation alongside new tokenized infrastructure.

Lagarde’s successor will take office during that implementation schedule but will not control the design alone. Article 283 provides for the European Council to appoint the ECB president by qualified majority following a Council recommendation and consultation with the European Parliament and ECB Governing Council. The departure announcement did not identify a successor. The Governing Council, comprising the Executive Board and governors of euro-area national central banks, remains the ECB’s principal decision-making body.

The consultation report anticipates more complex testing across interconnected functions in 2027. The report also envisages a forthcoming stakeholder call addressing tokenized deposits and payments, securities, and governance of shared networks. Arrangements for participation have yet to be communicated. Eventual access requirements will help establish whether common settlement infrastructure can support competing businesses without separating the cash and collateral that banks, issuers and DLT operators need.