Reclaiming Digital Sovereignty: ECB’s Strategy for Europe’s Tokenised Payments Future

In this paper, we discuss:

• The ECB’s strategy to strengthen Europe’s digital sovereignty through a unified tokenised payments architecture;
• Europe’s efforts to reduce dependence on non-European payment providers and reinforce monetary autonomy;
• Pontes and Appia as key pillars connecting DLT platforms with central bank money and tokenised settlement systems;
• The transition toward interoperable, programmable, and tokenised financial infrastructure across Europe;
• The broader geopolitical implications of digital payments infrastructure and tokenised finance for the euro’s global role.

Download PDF: ECB’s Strategy – May 2026