The European Central Bank, the European Commission and the European Securities and Markets Authority have jointly invited industry stakeholders to join a new group tasked with drafting shared standards for tokenized securities. Nominations for the European Tokenisation Standards Group close on 27 November 2026, with operations scheduled to begin in January 2027.

The industry-led body aims to produce an initial set of technical and market standards by early 2028. These standards will address how financial instruments are held and settled across different distributed ledger technology platforms and how those platforms connect with traditional market infrastructure. The three European institutions will take part in a non-voting capacity while market participants lead the work and appoint the chair and co-chair.

Focus on Interoperability and Fragmentation Risks

Officials have warned that without coordinated standards, differing technical approaches across platforms could reduce the practical benefits of tokenization. The group’s mandate centers on promoting end-to-end interoperability so that institutions can transfer and settle tokenized securities without needing separate arrangements for each network.

Participants will examine existing European and international standards, identify gaps, and develop common practices covering ownership records, transaction messaging and the completion of securities transfers. The group will also create a framework to monitor uptake of the agreed standards and may propose measures that EU authorities could use to encourage wider adoption.

Eligibility and Selection Process

Membership is open to EU industry associations, private companies, global financial institutions, fintech firms and technical service providers active in tokenization or distributed ledger technology services. Applicants must show relevant experience in developing or applying financial market standards, maintain a European presence, and commit sufficient resources to participate fully.

The European Central Bank, the European Commission and the European Securities and Markets Authority will jointly assess nominations, taking account of professional qualifications and the need for balanced representation across regions and sectors. Both successful and unsuccessful candidates will receive feedback.

Link to Broader Eurosystem Initiatives

The standards work forms part of the Eurosystem’s Appia project, which seeks to develop a blueprint for an integrated European tokenized financial market infrastructure. Appia explores how traditional institutions can issue and settle tokenized assets while continuing to use central bank money as the settlement asset.

In September the Eurosystem launched Pontes, a service that enables financial institutions to settle wholesale transactions involving tokenized assets in central bank money. The new standards group is expected to support Appia’s efforts on asset interoperability, including the movement of securities between different market infrastructures.

The initiative also connects with earlier proposals under the European Commission’s Market Integration and Supervision Package, including possible amendments to the distributed ledger technology pilot regime. Those amendments would require certain settlement institutions to work toward greater interoperability. The standards group is authorized to begin its work ahead of any final legislative changes and to coordinate future requirements if the amendments are adopted.

The group will report regularly to the three sponsoring authorities and publish a public summary of its activities at least once a year. Its mandate will conclude once the authorities determine that the assigned tasks have been completed.